NORTHERN IRELAND

Departmental Pensions

Danny Alexander: To ask the Secretary of State for Northern Ireland 
	(1)  what his most recent estimate is of the unfunded liability in present value terms of each public sector pension scheme for which his Department is responsible; and on what assumptions for  (a) discount and  (b) longevity the estimate is based;
	(2)  what the unfunded liability in present value terms was of each public sector pension scheme for which his Department is responsible in each year since 1990-91;
	(3)  what the  (a) rate and  (b) cost was of employer contributions for each public sector pension scheme for which his Department has responsibility in each year since 1990-91; and if he will make a statement;
	(4)  what the effect on his Department's expenditure would be from increasing the employee contribution to each pension scheme for which his Department is responsible by one per cent.; and if he will make a statement.

Shaun Woodward: Employees of the Northern Ireland Office are employed by either the Home civil service or Northern Ireland civil service, and as such, they are members of the Principal Civil Service Pension Scheme (GB) and (NI) respectively. These schemes are the responsibility of Cabinet Office and the Department for Finance and Personnel respectively. Relevant details are included in their scheme accounts.
	The Department has responsibility for broadly by analogy pension schemes for public appointments. Details of the most recent and past unfunded liabilities in present value terms will be contained within the Department's resource accounts which will be laid before Parliament by 22 July.

Police Stations: Closures

Gregory Campbell: To ask the Secretary of State for Northern Ireland pursuant to the answer of 10 January 2008,  Official Report, column 765W, on police stations: closures, when he expects the review to be published on possible police station closures in Northern Ireland.

Paul Goggins: The Chief Constable has provided the following answer:
	"Work is currently being carried out identifying stations, which will be subject to review. The outcome will likely be included in the Updated PSNI Estates Strategy planned to be submitted to the Northern Ireland Policing Board in June 2008."

Prisoners: Foreigners

Gregory Campbell: To ask the Secretary of State for Northern Ireland how many and what percentage of  (a) convicted and  (b) remand prisoners in Northern Ireland were neither UK nor Irish citizens in 2007.

Paul Goggins: The average number of convicted prisoners recorded as neither UK nor Irish citizens in custody during 2007 was 16, or 1.75 per cent. of the average convicted prisoner population.
	The average number of remand prisoners recorded as neither UK nor Irish citizens during 2007 was 40, or 7.5 per cent. of the average remand prisoner population.

Terrorism

Gregory Campbell: To ask the Secretary of State for Northern Ireland whether he plans to have discussions with the Foreign Affairs Minister of the Irish Republic on the possible future political implications in Northern Ireland of the charging in the Special Criminal Court in the Irish Republic on 10 May of a man in connection with possession of explosives and membership of the IRA.

Paul Goggins: It would not be appropriate for the Government to comment on a criminal case which is ongoing in another jurisdiction.

ENVIRONMENT FOOD AND RURAL AFFAIRS

Aggregates: Recycling

Steve Webb: To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs what the  (a) target and  (b) outturn for the proportion of aggregates that are recycled or from secondary sources used in Government-funded construction projects was in each of the last three years.

Jonathan R Shaw: No targets have been set in respect of the recycling of aggregates and data are not held on the proportion of aggregates that are recycled or from secondary sources used in Government-funded construction projects.

Agriculture: Science

Michael Meacher: To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs whether, in his role as Director of the International Assessment of Agricultural knowledge, Science and Technology for Development at the Intergovernmental Plenary, the Chief Scientific Adviser is required to act independently of the UK Government.

Jonathan R Shaw: The DEFRA Chief Scientific Adviser, Professor Bob Watson, is also Director of the International Assessment of Agricultural Knowledge, Science and Technology for Development (IAASTD). Professor Watson was appointed as IAASTD Director in an independent capacity and is not representing the UK Government in this role.

Animal Welfare: Circuses

David Taylor: To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs pursuant to the answer to the hon. Member for Tewkesbury of 22 January 2008,  Official Report, column 1969W, on animal welfare: circuses, what progress has been made in considering the feasibility of introducing secondary legislation under the Animal Welfare Act 2006 to regulate the welfare of wild animals in circuses through the replacement of the Performing Animals (Regulation) Act 1925; and whether there is a timeframe within which he expects these changes to be made.

Jonathan R Shaw: holding answer 12 May 2008
	The feasibility study, looking at the possibility of regulating wild animal acts in travelling circuses, has taken longer to complete than we originally anticipated. Details will be released as soon as the study is complete. Any future regulations relating to wild animals in circuses would not replace the Performing Animals (Regulation) Act 1925. DEFRA has a long-term commitment to reviewing this Act, but the timing of this review has yet to be fixed.

Beekeeping

Ben Chapman: To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs what funding his Department provides for research into beekeeping; and if he will make a statement.

Jonathan R Shaw: Detailed allocations for all of DEFRA's programmes have still to be finalised, including those for research. Funding for DEFRA's bee health programme is expected to be unchanged in 2008-09 (£1.3 million) In addition to this, commissioned research into honey bee health is expected to be c. £190,000. In addition, honey bee health benefits from other DEFRA-funded research activities. Research priorities are addressed in the draft Bee Health strategy which has recently been published for public consultation.

Bees: Disease Control

Tony Lloyd: To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs what recent assessment he has made of the risk to bee colonies of  (a) the varroa mite and  (b) other bee parasites.

Jonathan R Shaw: holding answer 15 May 2008
	The Varroa mite is ubiquitous and is probably in every honey bee colony in England and Wales. Although it is no longer a statutory requirement to notify the presence of Varroa, it poses a major threat to beekeepers. However, it can be kept under control with appropriate treatments and hive management techniques. The National Bee Unit provides written material on Varroa management (available on their Beebase website) and issues advice to beekeepers both through comprehensive training sessions on effective management of Varroa and when visiting individual beekeepers.
	Other damaging parasites affecting honey bees include Nosema and Tracheal mites. Limited survey work has shown that two species of Nosema—N. apis and N. ceranae—are present in the UK. They have been found in widely dispersed locations. Tracheal mite is also widespread.
	There is a statutory requirement to notify the presence of Tropilaelaps mites which can affect brood and adult bees. They are found in Asia and have not been reported in Europe.

Bovine Tuberculosis: Disease Control

Michael Spicer: To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs what his policy is on whether to use badger culling as part of a package of measures to address the incidence of bovine tuberculosis.

Jonathan R Shaw: No decision has yet been made on whether to use badger culling to contribute to the control of TB in cattle. There is a great deal of complex evidence to consider and the matter is receiving our attention.

Departmental Contracts

Andrew Murrison: To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs how many  (a) UK and  (b) non-UK nationals were employed in his Department's establishments in each year since 2001.

Jonathan R Shaw: Although information on the nationality of candidates is collected as part of the recruitment process, the nationality of members of staff is not held electronically and could be provided only at disproportionate cost.

Dogs

Gordon Prentice: To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs how many local authorities in England employed dog wardens in each year since 2000; and if he will make a statement.

Jonathan R Shaw: I refer the hon. Member to the answer given to the hon. Member for Leominster (Bill Wiggin) on 15 January 2008,  Official Report, column 1099W.

Ducks: Animal Welfare

Greg Knight: To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs 
	(1)  whether he plans to require the provision of water for farmed ducks to swim in on welfare grounds;
	(2)  pursuant to the question of 15 November 2007,  Official Report, column 339W, on ducks, whether his Department plans to make changes to the welfare regulations relating to ducks as a result of the research project on the welfare of farmed ducks.

Jonathan R Shaw: holding answer 13 May 2008
	The results of the DEFRA-funded research project a "Study to Assess the Welfare of Ducks Housed in Systems Currently Used in the UK" are being prepared for publication and will be submitted to a scientific journal shortly. We will consider the report in detail before deciding on a way forward.

Energy: EU Law

Anne McIntosh: To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs what the timetable is for the implementation of Lot 1 of the Energy-using Products Directive; and when he expects a decision on this matter to be taken by the Regulatory Committee.

Joan Ruddock: The Commission has not yet set a formal timetable for bringing forward the implementing measure on Lot 1 of the energy-using products directive, but has indicated that it expects the measure to go to the Regulatory Committee for a vote towards the end of 2008 or beginning of 2009.

Floods: Repairs and Maintenance

Laurence Robertson: To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs if he will consider assigning the proceeds of the fine imposed on Severn Trent plc to improvement of the sewage and drainage systems in areas affected by last year's flooding; and if he will make a statement. [Official Report, 22 May 2008, Vol. 476, c. 6MC.]

Phil Woolas: Ofwat is required by law to pay the fines it collects from water companies into the consolidated fund.

Plastic Bags

Simon Burns: To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs what steps his Department is taking to encourage retail outlets to replace plastic bags with brown paper bags; and if he will make a statement.

Joan Ruddock: We are taking no such steps. To do so would be counterproductive in terms of direct environmental impact, and would conflict with our objective of phasing out all single use bags, whether made from plastic or paper. While paper bags are derived from a renewable resource, their manufacturing process is resource intensive. Considerable quantities of oil are used, particularly for the extraction of wood pulp. Paper bags are also heavier than plastic bags and therefore require more energy to transport, resulting in greater emissions.

Rural Areas: Finance

Philip Dunne: To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs what the budget is for the Rural Development Programme in each year from 2007-08 to 2010-11.

Jonathan R Shaw: The total budget for 2007-08 was £392.4 million of which £192.4 million was Exchequer-funded and £200 million was funded from the European Agriculture Fund for Rural Development (EAFRD).
	The DEFRA Exchequer-funded RDPE budget for 2008-09 is £204.4 million. The EAFRD budgets to match this funding are still being finalised. DEFRA budgets for 2009-10 and 2010-11 have not yet been finalised.
	The total RDPE budget for the seven year programme period 2007-13 (both national and EU funded) is £3.9 billion.

Stichling Hahn Hilbrich

Mark Hoban: To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs what the  (a) purpose and  (b) value was of each (i) contract and (ii) transaction between his Department and Stichling Hahn Hilbrich in each of the last five years; and on what date each such (A) contract was signed and (B) transaction took place.

Jonathan R Shaw: From information held centrally, the core-Department has made no payments to Stichling Hahn Hilbrich since DEFRA was created in June 2001. Information on payments made by DEFRA outside of the core-Department is not held centrally and any information could be provided only at disproportionate cost.

SCOTLAND

Departmental Public Participation

Stewart Hosie: To ask the Secretary of State for Scotland how much his Department spent on  (a) written consultations,  (b) consultation roadshows and  (c) stakeholder focus groups in each of the last three years.

Des Browne: In the last three years, the Scotland Office has incurred direct costs of £2,038 in 2007-08 on written consultations; nothing on consultation roadshows; and nothing on stakeholder focus groups.

Departmental Public Participation

Stewart Hosie: To ask the Secretary of State for Scotland what consultants have been contracted by his Department to conduct public participation activity in the last three years; and what the value of each such contract was.

Des Browne: The Scotland Office incurred no costs on consultants in the last three years.

HOUSE OF COMMONS COMMISSION

Freedom of Information: Requests for Data Held

Frank Doran: To ask the hon. Member for North Devon, representing the House of Commons Commission, what further steps the Members Estimate Committee plans to take regarding freedom of information requests for data held by the House.

Nick Harvey: The House has decided not to seek leave to appeal to the Court of Appeal against the judgment of the divisional court of 16 May 2008.
	It is planned that the publication scheme announced for the autumn will now include information down to receipt level.

WALES

Public Sector: Welsh Language

John Spellar: To ask the Secretary of State for Wales what information he holds on the percentage of public sector jobs in Wales that require the ability to read or speak Welsh.

Paul Murphy: The information requested is not held centrally.

DEFENCE

Air Force: Military Aid

Liam Fox: To ask the Secretary of State for Defence what aircraft operated by the Royal Air Force have the capability to conduct humanitarian airdrop operations.

Bob Ainsworth: holding answer 19 May 2008
	RAF Hercules C130J and Ks are capable of conducting humanitarian airdrop operations.

Armed Forces: Leave

Liam Fox: To ask the Secretary of State for Defence how many and what percentage of service personnel were unable to take all their annual leave in each year since 2001.

Bob Ainsworth: The information requested is not held in the format requested and could be provided only at disproportionate cost.

Armed Forces: Repairs and Maintenance

Liam Fox: To ask the Secretary of State for Defence how many spare parts were lost in transit in 2007-08.

Bob Ainsworth: Data on losses are not held in such a way that enables the separate identification of 'spare parts'.

Armed Forces: Widowed people

James Arbuthnot: To ask the Secretary of State for Defence, how many armed forces widows voluntarily surrendered their pensions on remarriage or cohabitation in each of the last five years; and what the associated saving to the defence budget was in each year.

Derek Twigg: An exercise is currently underway to provide detailed figures. I will write to the right hon. Member as soon as this exercise is completed.
	 Substantive answer from Derek Twigg to James Arbuthnot:
	Further to my letter of 14 April 2008,1 am writing to inform you that the exercise undertaken by the Government Actuary's Department has recently been completed. I am now in a position to provide you with a full answer to your parliamentary question (PQ00549U refers).
	You requested details of how many armed forces widows in each of the last five years voluntarily surrendered their pension on remarriage or cohabitation. The following table provides data in respect of the number of pension cessations due to remarriages and cohabitations over the last 25 years. You may agree that this level of detail provides a more comprehensive overview.
	
		
			   Number 
			 1983-86 32 
			 1987-89 54 
			 1990-92 193 
			 1993-95 200 
			 1996-98 204 
			 1999-2001 171 
			 2002-04 230 
			 2005-07 44 
			 Total 1,128 
		
	
	As you are aware, entitlement to an AFPS 75 widow's non-attributable pension ceases in the event of remarriage or cohabitation and the onus is on individuals to notify the Service Personnel and Veterans Agency (SPVA) should there be a change in their personal circumstances. This is a compulsory requirement to comply with the AFPS 75 scheme rules.
	Contrary to these statistics representing a saving to the defence budget, I should point out that costs would have been incurred if these spouses' pensions had not ceased on re-marriage or cohabitation. The estimated capitalised cost of paying back payments (plus interest) to those individuals represented in the table, whose pensions were ceased, as well as the cost of paying those pensions in future would be around £150 million.
	The capitalised cost of removing the cessation condition completely for the future would be between £70 million and £350 million. The reason for the range in figures is that the AFPS 75 statistics are not consistent with the UK population remarriage statistics. This could be due to a reduction in the reporting of remarriage and cohabitation in recent years.
	I am sorry that it has taken so long to provide a substantive reply, but it has required a bespoke exercise to be conducted to generate sufficient data for the scheme actuary to be able to analyse.
	I hope this is helpful.

Armoured Fighting Vehicles: Procurement

Ann Winterton: To ask the Secretary of State for Defence how many Bushmaster vehicles have been ordered; for what purpose they are intended; what the cost of the order is; in which theatre of operation they are to be used; when they will be delivered; and if he will make a statement.

Bob Ainsworth: I can confirm that we have ordered 24 Bushmaster vehicles at a unit cost of about £0.500 million, including spares. I am withholding the further information requested as its release would, or would be likely to, prejudice the capability, effectiveness or security of our armed forces

Army: Recruitment

Andrew Murrison: To ask the Secretary of State for Defence what targets he has for recruitment of Commonwealth citizens into the Army.

Bob Ainsworth: The Army currently has no target for the recruitment of Commonwealth citizens. I refer the hon. Member to the answer I gave on 14 May 2008,  Official Report, column 1577W, to the hon. Member for Pendle (Mr. Prentice).

Army: Recruitment

Andrew Murrison: To ask the Secretary of State for Defence what visits were made by Army recruitment selection teams to Commonwealth countries in each year since 1997.

Bob Ainsworth: The Army does not actively recruit overseas with the exception of Gurkhas from Nepal. Any Commonwealth or Irish citizen residing overseas who wishes to apply to join the Army must travel to the UK at their own expense to undergo the selection process. However, in recent years the Army has sent selection teams to some Commonwealth countries at the specific request of the government concerned, and even then only when evidence suggests that there is sufficient interest among the local population to merit a visit. The selection teams screen out those who are not thought capable of meeting the full entry standards, to save them the cost of an abortive trip to the UK to undergo the recruitment selection process. The selection team will only see those who have made an application to the Overseas Cell of the Army's Recruiting Group.
	Since 1997 Army Overseas Selection Teams have visited Fiji 10 times, St Vincent and the Grenadines three times and St Lucia twice. In addition a team has this month just commenced a visit to St Lucia and Belize.

Army: Recruitment

Andrew Murrison: To ask the Secretary of State for Defence what percentage of the Army he estimates will be non-UK citizens in each year from 2009 to 2015.

Bob Ainsworth: Foreign and Commonwealth citizens (excluding Gurkhas) currently represent seven per cent. of trained Army strength compared to six per cent. as at March 2007 and six per cent. as at May 2006. No forecasts have been made for future years and it is therefore not possible to provide an estimate for each year from 2009 to 2015.

AWE Burghfield

Mike Hancock: To ask the Secretary of State for Defence 
	(1)  pursuant to the answer of 6 May 2008,  Official Report, column 835W, on AWE Burghfield, on whose authority live nuclear work was suspended at AWE Burghfield, as described in the Health and Safety Executive Quarterly Report for 1 October to 31 December 2007; on what date work was suspended; what work needs to take place before live nuclear work resumes; on what date work is expected to resume; on whose authority this will take place; and whether he was informed of this suspension;
	(2)  on what date the Nuclear Installations Inspectorate stopped live nuclear work at Atomic Weapons Establishment Burghfield; for what reason the work was stopped; when he expects work to recommence; and if he will make a statement.

Bob Ainsworth: As a result of temporary disruption due to flooding at AWE Burghfield, the nuclear site licensee, AWE plc, took a decision not to undertake live nuclear working while remedial work was undertaken. This decision was taken on 20 July 2007, in consultation with the nuclear installations inspectorate (NII) and with Ministry of Defence officials, and was consistent with our planned operational programmes. Precise details on these programmes, including live working dates, are being withheld for the purposes of safeguarding national security.
	While necessary work to repair flood damage was ongoing, the opportunity was taken to maximise completion of existing work identified from AWE's routine Periodic Review of Safety (PRS), as a parallel activity. Work varied in different facilities, examples include: replacing floors, plasterwork and doors; replacing electrical equipment; mechanical, electrical and lighting improvements and new vacuum and compressed air systems. Live working has already resumed. Facilities have been subject to rigorous scrutiny through AWE plc's governance process with inspection by, and authority from, the NII.
	Ministry of Defence officials maintain a constant dialogue with AWE plc and NII colleagues have been consulted throughout. The disruption did not have an adverse effect on the UK deterrent programme, and AWE Burghfield maintains its capability to support the deterrent safely under highly regulated arrangements.

BOWMAN Combat Radio System

Nick Harvey: To ask the Secretary of State for Defence 
	(1)  what the average life of VHF manpack batteries for the Bowman radio is;
	(2)  what the average range of the Bowman radio is;
	(3)  how many representations his Department has received about the longevity of the VHF manpack batteries used in Bowman radios.

Bob Ainsworth: The Bowman VHF manpack battery has an average battery life of approximately four years, based on delivery of 300 life cycles. Within these parameters, the VHF radio battery is expected to last between six to 12 hours before it requires recharging, dependent on the intensity of use and the life cycle history.
	There are several types of Bowman radio, which differ in range dependent on radio type, power, antennae, terrain and weather conditions. I am withholding further information as its release would, or would be likely to, prejudice the capability, effectiveness or security of the armed forces.
	The Ministry of Defence is not aware of any representations specifically on the longevity of the VHF manpack batteries used in Bowman radios.

Cyprus

Liam Fox: To ask the Secretary of State for Defence pursuant to the written ministerial statement of 12 May 2008,  Official Report, column 48WS, on UN Forces (Cyprus), what the mission of the 250 reservists will be once deployed to Cyprus.

Bob Ainsworth: The mission of the 250-plus reservists due to deploy to Cyprus in October will be to contribute to the implementation of the United Nations peacekeeping force in Cyprus (UNFICYP) mandate, which is to prevent a recurrence of fighting, maintain a stable environment and de-escalate the military presence along the Buffer Zone in order to enable a just and lasting political solution.

Cyprus

Liam Fox: To ask the Secretary of State for Defence pursuant to the written ministerial statement of 12 May 2008,  Official Report, column 48WS, on UN Forces (Cyprus), whether the 250 reservists have been notified of their future deployment.

Bob Ainsworth: The process of selection and training of Reservists to serve on the next deployment for Op TOSCA with the UN in Cyprus will culminate in full notice of call-out (which is a minimum of 28-days) prior to their mobilisation. This will not need to take place until later this year.

Defence Equipment and Support

Liam Fox: To ask the Secretary of State for Defence what amount of efficiency savings Defence Equipment and Support are required to make in 2007-08.

Bob Ainsworth: Under the spending review 2004 efficiency programme, the MOD is required to achieve £2.83 billion of cumulative input and output efficiency savings by the end of 2007-08. Defence Equipment and Support is forecasting a contribution of approximately £l billion towards this target, with an additional £150 million being forecast as a result of Logistics Transformation in the Front Line Commands.

Departmental Equality

Theresa May: To ask the Secretary of State for Defence whether his Department met the Civil Service diversity targets set out on page 51 of Cabinet Office Annual Report 2007 by April 2008.

Derek Twigg: The latest published statistics against overall civil service targets were at October 2007, and are available on the Civil Service website at
	http://www.civilservice.gov.uk/about/diversity/monitoring.asp.
	The final measurement against the targets will be published in autumn 2008.
	Since 2004, when the Cabinet Office set its diversity targets, the Ministry of Defence has made progress towards improving the diversity of its work force. In keeping with a number of Departments, the MOD was set its own targets within the overall civil service target. These targets recognised the lower baseline figure from which the MOD were working, but remained both meaningful and stretching.
	We have, as a result, exceeded our targets for those with disabilities within the senior civil service, and narrowly missed our targets for women, and women in top management positions. Nevertheless, we have continued to make good progress in the right direction. We have, however, been unsuccessful in improving the numbers of ethnic minorities in our senior civil service, despite having initiatives in place to try and do so.
	We are also making good progress in grades that feed into the senior civil service. For example, the MOD Fast Stream (the civil service graduate scheme), is now just over 48 per cent. women and over 9 per cent. ethnic minorities.

Departmental Publications

Liam Fox: To ask the Secretary of State for Defence if he will place in the Library a copy of his Department's Claims Annual Report for 2007-08.

Derek Twigg: Copies of the Ministry of Defence's Claims Annual Report have been placed in the Library of the House each year since it was first published in 1997-98. The 2007-08 report is scheduled to be published in July 2008 and a copy will be placed in the Library of the House.

Fuels

Liam Fox: To ask the Secretary of State for Defence what guidance he has issued on security arrangements to ensure the safe functioning of his Department's petroleum storage depots; and if he will place in the Library a copy of such guidance.

Bob Ainsworth: All Ministry of Defence establishments follow Government policy on the appropriate physical security measures to protect assets and personnel.
	Release of the details of such measures could compromise both the security of such establishments and the health and safety of those employed there.

Military Aircraft

Liam Fox: To ask the Secretary of State for Defence how many and what percentage of  (a) C-17 Globemaster,  (b) C-130K Hercules,  (c) C-130J Hercules,  (d) Tristar,  (e) VC-10 and (f) Nimrod aircraft are (i) in service, (ii) in the forward fleet and (iii) fit for purpose.

Bob Ainsworth: The number and percentage of C-17, C-130J, C-130K, Tristar, VC10 and Nimrod that are in the Forward Available Fleet and considered Fit for Purpose (FFP) during the month of April are detailed in the following table. Forward Available Fleet (FAF) aircraft are those that are available to the front line command for operational and training purposes; aircraft undergoing scheduled depth maintenance, or planned routine fleet maintenance are not included. Aircraft defined as Fit for Purpose are those considered capable of carrying out their planned missions on a given date. The figures shown are the average for the month of April 2008, and have been rounded to the nearest whole number.
	
		
			   Number in service  Average number of aircraft in Forward Available Fleet  Average percentage of total fleet in FAF  Average number of aircraft Fit for Purpose  Average percentage FFP of Forward Available Fleet 
			 C-17(1) 5 3 60 2 74 
			 Tristar 9 7 78 5 78 
			 VC10 16 12 75 7 56 
			 C-130K 19 12 62 9 77 
			 C-130J 24 18 75 13 74 
			 Nimrod MR2 15 10 63 6 65 
			 Nimrod R1 3 2 50 1 61 
			 (1) The fifth C-17 was delivered for squadron service in this month and is only counted in the Fit for Purpose statistics from 10 April 2008.

Nimrod Aircraft

Liam Fox: To ask the Secretary of State for Defence how many fuel leakages on a Nimrod aircraft have been reported since January 2007.

Bob Ainsworth: I will write to the hon. Member.

Reserve Forces

Liam Fox: To ask the Secretary of State for Defence how many civilian employer complaints his Department received on the deployment of reserve forces in the last period for which figures are available; and what percentage of the total number of deployments this represents.

Bob Ainsworth: Under the Reserve Forces Act 1996, the employer of a member of the reserve forces is entitled to apply for his or her employee's exemption from call out or recall into permanent or mobilised service or to have the employee's call out or recall deferred or revoked or, if the employee has been accepted into service, to seek his or her release from permanent service. Such an application is made to a service adjudication officer, whose decision or determination can be challenged by way of a re-hearing of the application by a Reserve Forces Appeal Tribunal, a judicial body independent of the Ministry of Defence.
	As detailed in the following table, in 10 cases only have applications for exemption, etc., by employers been decided at Reserve Forces Appeal Tribunals, established on 1 April 1997, since which more than 17,000 members of the reserve forces have been deployed on mobilised service.
	
		
			  Reserve Forces Appeal Tribunals—employer exemption cases —1 April 1997 to 16 May 2008 
			   Number 
			 Appeals registered (1)52 
			 Appeals later withdrawn or settled out of court 42 
			 Appeals decided at tribunal (1)10 
			 Appeals decided for the appellant employer 2 
			 Appeals decided for the Respondent Service Authority (1)8 
			 (1) One case only since March 2004.

Russia: Military Aircraft

Quentin Davies: To ask the Secretary of State for Defence on which occasions RAF aircraft have flown sorties in response to unannounced incursions by Russian military aircraft into areas adjacent to United Kingdom airspace in the last 12 months; and if he will make a statement.

Des Browne: In the last 12 months no Russian aircraft have penetrated UK national airspace. However, Russian aircraft have approached or entered the NATO Air Policing Area (APA) for which the UK has responsibility.
	I am withholding the exact dates that Russian military aircraft entered the APA as its disclosure would, or would be likely to prejudice the capability, effectiveness or security of the armed forces. However, the following table gives the number of days within a month that Quick Reaction Alert aircraft have been launched to identify Russian military aircraft approaching or entering the APA.
	
		
			   Number 
			  2007  
			 May 0 
			 June 0 
			 July 2 
			 August 1 
			 September 3 
			 October 4 
			 November 5 
			 December 2 
			   
			  2008  
			 January 2 
			 February 0 
			 March 1 
			 April 1

Service Personnel and Veterans Agency: Location

Andrew Murrison: To ask the Secretary of State for Defence, 
	(1)  what steps he will take to  (a) minimise the potential for disruption and  (b) retain (i) skills and (ii) service levels in relation to the proposed re-location of the Service Personnel and Veterans Agency; and if he will make a statement;
	(2)  if he will place in the Library a copy of the Business Case for the re-location of the Service Personnel and Veterans Agency; and if he will make a statement;
	(3)  what estimate he has made of the costs to his Department associated with re-locating the Service Personnel and Veterans Agency; and if he will make a statement;
	(4)  when he plans to make a statement on the proposed re-location of the Service personnel and Veterans Agency.

Derek Twigg: I will write shortly to the hon. Member regarding my decision about the proposed relocation of the Service Personnel and Veterans Agency functions undertaken currently at Innsworth Station.
	 Substantive answer from Derek Twigg to Andrew Murrison:
	You may recall that I wrote to you on 22 April (ref: D/US of S/DT MC02052/2008) in reply to your letter of 2 April (ref: AM/JCP/29/020408) enclosing one from your constituent, Ms K Eastwood of 17 Bush Court, Priors Road, Prestbury, Cheltenham who expressed her concern about the proposed relocation of the Service Personnel and Veterans Agency (SPVA) from Innsworth to Gosport and Norcross.
	As you will be aware from my letter to you on this issue, I undertook to write to you once I had made my decision. I trust you will also accept this as my written reply to your written questions ref 204670,204676, 204677 and 204678.
	I have considered carefully all of the issues surrounding the options outlined within the Future Accommodation Study (FAS) for the relocation of the SPVA functions from Innsworth, and have decided that SPVA should retain a four site structure based at Centurion Building, Gosport, Tomlinson House, Norcross, Kentigern House, Glasgow and Building 247, Innsworth (i.e. Option One under the FAS).
	While I recognise that there would be business benefits in the medium term to be gained from moving the SPVA functions currently undertaken at Innsworth, I consider that the risks associated with moving the Joint Casualty and Compassionate Centre and the MOD Medal Office at this time, given the vital role and the excellent service they provide, to outweigh these benefits. Therefore, I have decided that, on balance, those functions currently undertaken at SPVA Innsworth should remain there for the foreseeable future.

Territorial Army

Liam Fox: To ask the Secretary of State for Defence what the required complement of Territorial Army driver training instructors is; and how many such instructors there are.

Bob Ainsworth: There is a requirement for each TA unit to have one driving instructor on strength with two in infantry battalions. This equates to a requirement for 128 driving instructors in TA units. This requirement may be filled by either TA or regular personnel within the TA unit.
	There are 66 members of the TA whose current role includes Defence Driving Instructor duties. This is supplemented by the use of contractors to deliver driver training.

Territorial Army: Northern Ireland

Gregory Campbell: To ask the Secretary of State for Defence how many Territorial Army personnel from Northern Ireland took part in active service outside the United Kingdom in each of the last five years.

Bob Ainsworth: The number of Territorial Army (TA) personnel, with their permanent residence in Northern Ireland, who have been mobilised for operations or in support of operations outside the United Kingdom in each year since 2003 is as follows:
	
		
			   Number of TA personnel mobilised 
			 2003 280 
			 2004 173 
			 2005 70 
			 2006 23 
			 2007 108 
			 2008 (as at 15 May 2008) 43 
		
	
	The duration of mobilised service is generally 11 and a half months (invariably spanning two calendar years) and includes a period of pre-deployment training and integration, the operational tour itself, decompression, demobilisation and a mandatory period of post operational leave.

TRANSPORT

Airports

Norman Baker: To ask the Secretary of State for Transport what the membership of the External Advisory Group looking at airport-related issues is; on what dates it has met since September 2004; and which of those meetings have been attended by Ministers.

Jim Fitzpatrick: The membership of the Department for Transport's External Advisory Group looking at airport-related issues is:
	Air Transport Users Council
	Airport Operators Association
	Aviation Environment Federation
	BAA
	Board of airline representatives in the UK
	British Air Transport Association
	British Airways
	Confederation of British Industry
	DHL
	Friends of the Earth
	Manchester Airports Group
	Scottish Executive
	Strategic Aviation Special Interest Group
	Sustainable Development Commission
	TUI Travel
	Virgin Atlantic
	Since September 2004, it has met on the following dates:
	
		
			   Date 
			 2004 16 September 
			 2005 4 February 
			  16 June 
			  28 October 
			 2006 28 February 
			  6 July 
			  18 September 
			  1 November 
			 2007 16 July 
			  15 October 
			 2008 29 February 
		
	
	None of the meetings was attended by a Minister.

Airports: Security Guards

Michael Spicer: To ask the Secretary of State for Transport if she will impose a three-year residency requirement for foreign nationals seeking employment as security workers at UK airports.

Jim Fitzpatrick: We announced in December 2007 that the Government have commissioned an independent review, led by Stephen Boys Smith, into the current arrangements for pre-employment checks in the transport industry. The review is looking at the arrangements regarding foreign nationals working at UK airports and will report to Ministers in the summer.

Aviation: Noise

David Lidington: To ask the Secretary of State for Transport 
	(1)  if she will make it her policy to seek to limit and reduce the impact of aircraft noise on  (a) National Parks and  (b) Areas of Outstanding Natural Beauty; and if she will make a statement;
	(2)  what assessment her Department has made of the effect on  (a) National Parks and  (b) Areas of Outstanding Natural Beauty of (i) current and (ii) projected patterns of aircraft noise; and if she will make a statement;
	(3)  what steps she has taken to rural-proof her Department's policy on aircraft noise.

Jim Fitzpatrick: The Civil Aviation Authority (CAA) is responsible for approving the use of UK airspace, as part of its role to develop and enforce a policy for the sustainable use of that airspace. The process for making changes to airspace is governed by the CAA's Airspace Change Process under which it is for airspace change sponsors, such as NATS, to develop proposals and then consult on them.
	The Secretary of State for Transport has issued Directions (2001) to the CAA requiring it to take into account the need to reduce, control and mitigate as far as possible the environmental impacts of civil aircraft operations. Supporting Guidance (2002) encourages the CAA, as far as possible to avoid routes below 7,000 ft over built-up areas and to pursue policies that help to preserve the tranquillity of the countryside, such as avoiding overflight of National Parks and Areas of Outstanding Natural Beauty, where this does not add to the environmental burdens on more densely populated areas.
	The Directions and Guidance are on the Department for Transport's website:
	www.dft.gov.uk

Cycling

Lindsay Hoyle: To ask the Secretary of State for Transport what measures are in place to encourage an increase in the number of people taking the national standards for cycle training.

Rosie Winterton: We announced in March this year grants of over £3 million to local authorities to train an additional 80,000 children to the national standard. We are also making available £1 million for direct cycle training grants to schools through the School Sports Partnerships. This will provide funds for around a further 25,000 children to receive national standard training.
	This builds on the 46,000 children for whom we have already funded training via local authorities and School Sports Partnerships.
	Further grants will be made available, through Cycling England over the next few years to achieve our target of providing cycle training for 500,000 children by 2012.

Cycling

Lindsay Hoyle: To ask the Secretary of State for Transport what progress has been made in meeting the Government's national cycling strategy objective to increase cycle journeys to eight per cent. of journeys by 2012.

Rosie Winterton: The White Paper on the Future of Transport (CM 6324) published in July 2004 announced a move away from the "one size fits all" national target towards working closely with individual local authorities to put in place sharper, more focused, local plans and targets for walking and cycling.
	We announced in January a six fold increase in Cycling England's budget to £140 million over the next three years to work with local authorities and others to increase cycling.

Departmental Official Hospitality

Theresa May: To ask the Secretary of State for Transport how many receptions she has hosted and funded in her capacity as Secretary of State in the last 12 months; which individuals and organisations  (a) were invited to and  (b) attended each reception; and what the cost was of each reception.

Jim Fitzpatrick: We will publish, in due course, an annual list providing information relating to official receptions hosted by Ministers in the Department in the course of the previous financial year.

Departmental Public Participation

Stewart Hosie: To ask the Secretary of State for Transport how much her Department spent on  (a) written consultations,  (b) consultation roadshows and  (c) stakeholder focus groups in each of the last three years.

Jim Fitzpatrick: Consultation exercises form an integral part of policymaking and as such are funded from policy teams' budgets rather than from a consultation budget, and so a total cannot be provided except at disproportionate cost.

Departmental Standards

Justine Greening: To ask the Secretary of State for Transport what projects sponsored by her Department were subject to Gateway reviews in each of the last four years; what status each project was assigned under such reviews; how much her Department spent on Gateway reviews in each such year; and if she will make a statement.

Jim Fitzpatrick: holding answer 15 May 2008
	There are three types of Gateway reviews: high, medium and low risk. Some of these reviews are organised and recorded centrally and information about these is provided in a table, which has been placed in the Libraries of the House. Other reviews are delivered and recorded locally and information about these could be obtained only at disproportionate cost.
	Gateway reports, including the findings and status, are conducted on a confidential basis for Senior Responsible Owners (SROs). We do not make this information routinely public.
	A key principle of Gateway reviews is that they are cost-neutral. However, where there is a shortfall in civil service Gateway reviewers, suitably accredited external resource may be used. The Department has spent around £115,000 per annum in this way.

Maritime and Coastguard Agency: Industrial Action

Alistair Carmichael: To ask the Secretary of State for Transport what involvement the Maritime and Coastguard Agency has in civil contingency planning; and what impact the industrial action by agency staff has had on civil contingency plans.

Jim Fitzpatrick: As a Category 1 responder under the terms of the Civil Contingencies Act 2004 the Maritime and Coastguard Agency (MCA) co-operates and shares information with other responders, planning to prevent and respond to emergencies, planning for business continuity and warning and informing the public in the event of an emergency. This is mostly achieved by engaging with local resilience fora.
	The importance of civil contingencies planning has been recognised by the MCA within its revised management structure and has been given additional resources.
	The MCA is not aware of any instance where staff have withdrawn from civil contingencies planning activities in the last 12 months as a result of industrial action.

Maritime and Coastguard Agency: Industrial Action

Alistair Carmichael: To ask the Secretary of State for Transport how many staff from the Maritime and Coastguard Agency have withdrawn from civil contingencies planning activities as a result of industrial action in the last 12 months.

Jim Fitzpatrick: The MCA is not aware of any instance where staff have withdrawn from civil contingencies planning activities in the last 12 months as a result of industrial action.

Maritime and Coastguard Agency: Manpower

Alistair Carmichael: To ask the Secretary of State for Transport how many staff joined the Maritime and Coastguard Agency in each year since 1997; and how many left the Agency in each of these years, broken down by reason for ending employment.

Jim Fitzpatrick: Information is available only for 2003 onwards.
	The number of starters at the Maritime and Coastguard Agency, by year, is shown in the following table:
	
		
			   Starters 
			 2003 193 
			 2004 155 
			 2005 151 
			 2006 139 
			 2007 140 
			 2008 (to date) 30 
		
	
	Exit questionnaires for leavers are not compulsory and have been used only since 2004. The number of leavers, by year, with primary reason for leaving is shown in the following table:
	
		
			   Primary exit reason  Total 
			 2003 No reason 119 
			  Pay 1 
			 2003 Total  120 
			
			 2004 Change of career 15 
			  Dislike job/Unhappy with present job 3 
			  Dislike of working methods 1 
			  Family commitments 3 
			  Further education 8 
			  Lack of promotion prospects 2 
			  Lack of training 1 
			  Moving to another location 14 
			  No reason 69 
			  Pay 5 
			  Seeking more responsibility 2 
			  Unhappy with management 2 
			  Unhappy with work location 1 
			 2004 Total  126 
			
			 2005 Change of career 13 
			  Dislike job/Unhappy with present job 5 
			  Family commitments 3 
			  Further education 10 
			  Lack of promotion prospects 3 
			  Moving to another location 13 
			  No reason 85 
			  Pay 5 
			  Seeking more responsibility 5 
			  Travel to work difficulties/Expense 3 
			  Unhappy with hours of work 1 
			  Unhappy with management 3 
			  Unhappy with work environment 1 
			 2005 Total  150 
			
			 2006 Bullying/Harassment 1 
			  Change of career 22 
			  Dislike job/Unhappy with present job 4 
			  Dislike of working methods 1 
			  Family commitments 2 
			  Further education 7 
			  Lack of promotion prospects 6 
			  Moving to another location 12 
			  No reason 72 
			  Overworked 1 
			  Pay 7 
			  Seeking more responsibility 2 
			  Travel to work difficulties/Expense 2 
			  Unhappy with hours of work 3 
			  Unhappy with management 2 
			 2006 Total  144 
			
			 2007 Change of career 26 
			  Dislike job/Unhappy with present job 2 
			  Family commitments 3 
			  Further education 9 
			  Lack of promotion prospects 4 
			  Moving to another location 8 
			  No reason 71 
			  Overworked 1 
			  Pay 8 
			  Seeking more responsibility 4 
			  Travel to work difficulties/Expense 2 
			  Unhappy with management 2 
			 2007 Total  140 
			
			 2008 (to date) Change of career 10 
			  Family commitments 1 
			  Lack of promotion prospects 1 
			  Moving to another location 7 
			  No reason 29 
			  Pay 7 
			  Seeking more responsibility 1 
			  Unhappy with work environment 1 
			 2008 Total (to date)  57

Maritime and Coastguard Agency: Manpower

Alistair Carmichael: To ask the Secretary of State for Transport how many staff who started employment with the Maritime and Coastguard Agency since 1997 left employment within  (a) one year and  (b) two years.

Jim Fitzpatrick: Information is available only for 2003 onwards.
	The numbers of staff who started employment with the Maritime and Coastguard Agency since 1997 that have left within  (a) one year and  (b) two years is shown in the following table:
	
		
			   (a) Left within 1 year  (b) Left within 2 years (but greater than 1) 
			 2003 31 8 
			 2004 14 17 
			 2005 16 17 
			 2006 22 13 
			 2007 23 18 
			 2008 (to date) 11 8 
			 Total 117 81

Maritime and Coastguard Agency: Manpower

Alistair Carmichael: To ask the Secretary of State for Transport how many staff the Maritime and Coastguard Agency  (a) employs and  (b) employed in 1997, broken down by (i) grade and (ii) office.

Jim Fitzpatrick: Information is only available from 2002.
	The number of staff employed by the Maritime and Coastguard Agency is shown for 2002 and for 2008 by (i) grade and (ii) office location is shown in the following tables.
	
		
			  (i) by grade 
			  Headcount 
			  Grade  2002  2008 
			 AA 172 182 
			 AO 340 369 
			 EO 261 268 
			 HEO 122 128 
			 SEO 134 171 
			 Grade 7 98 91 
			 Grade 6 20 17 
			 SCS 3 2 
			 Total 1150 1228 
		
	
	
		
			  (ii) by office 
			  Headcount 
			  Office  2002  2008 
			 Aberdeen 61 61 
			 Belfast 34 38 
			 Brixham 34 31 
			 Cardiff 46 49 
			 Clyde 55 61 
			 Dover 39 36 
			 Falmouth 38 40 
			 Forth 27 27 
			 Highcliffe 18 18 
			 Holyhead 26 28 
			 Hull 20 23 
			 Number 35 36 
			 Leith 4 2 
			 Liverpool 40 44 
			 London 10 8 
			 Milford 33 29 
			 Orpington 12 15 
			 Plymouth 9 9 
			 Portland 29 31 
			 Shetland 21 26 
			 Solent 33 33 
			 Spring Place 358 417 
			 Stockton 5 7 
			 Stornoway 30 32 
			 Swansea 47 42 
			 Thames 31 36 
			 Tyne 21 15 
			 Yarmouth 34 34 
			 Total 1150 1228

Ministers: Official Cars

Mark Hoban: To ask the Secretary of State for Transport pursuant to the answer to the hon. Member for Lewes of 2 April 2008,  Official Report, column 1020W, on Ministers: official cars, which former Ministers have been provided with cars by the Government Car and Despatch Agency since 1 January 2005.

Jim Fitzpatrick: The Government are committed to publishing an annual list of the numbers and cost of Government cars provided to Departments. The list for 2007-08, which will be published before the summer recess, will include information relating to cars provided to former Ministers.

Motor Vehicles: Excise Duties

Julia Goldsworthy: To ask the Secretary of State for Transport how many exemptions from road tax in each band were granted to disabled people in the last 12 months.

Jim Fitzpatrick: There were approximately 1.12 million vehicle excise duty exemptions granted to disabled people during 2007.

Public Transport: Disabled

Mark Harper: To ask the Secretary of State for Transport 
	(1)  what proportion of bus and train providers she expects to have fulfilled their accessibility targets by  (a) 2010 and  (b) 2020;
	(2)  what steps her Department has taken to encourage bus and train providers to meet the deadlines under Part 5 of the Disability Discrimination Act 2005 for accessibility;
	(3)  what proportion of bus and train providers have met the accessibility goals set by the Government.

Rosie Winterton: Latest figures showed that 58 per cent. of buses were low floor and wheelchair accessible at 31 March 2007. This rises to over 80 per cent. in urban areas and 100 per cent. in London. The Disability Discrimination Act requires that all buses with a carrying capacity exceeding 22 passengers and used on local or scheduled services must comply with accessibility regulations by the start of 2017.
	Over 4,700 accessible rail vehicles have been introduced into service since 1998 when the accessibility regulations took effect.

Railways: Stansted Airport

Stewart Jackson: To ask the Secretary of State for Transport if officials in her Department will meet representatives of Arriva Trains Cross Country in advance of decisions related to the December 2008 timetable change to discuss the provision of earlier weekday and weekend services between Peterborough and Stansted Airport.

Tom Harris: There are currently no plans to meet representatives of Arriva Cross Country Trains Ltd. to discuss the provision of earlier services between Peterborough and Stansted airport.
	Provided Arriva Cross Country meets the minimum specification for this route, as set out in its franchise agreement, any decision on operating additional services is one for Arriva to take. Such decisions would be made on a commercial basis to meet passenger demand.

Railways: Tickets

Lynne Featherstone: To ask the Secretary of State for Transport 
	(1)  what recent discussions her Department has had with train operating companies on the introduction of smartcard ticketing; and if she will make a statement;
	(2)  what cost-benefit analysis her Department has undertaken into smartcard ticketing across the rail network.

Tom Harris: The Department for Transport, Transport for London and train operators are working together on the acceptance of Oyster Pay as You Go on rail services in the London Travelcard Zones and the acceptance of ITSO Smartcards on Oyster equipment. Commercial and contractual negotiations are taking place.
	The introduction of ITSO smartcards has been mandated in the most recently let franchises—South Western, West Midlands, East Midlands and Intercity East Coast, with the New Cross Country Franchise accepting smartcard tickets issued by other operators.
	The costs and benefits of these smartcard schemes have been demonstrated in the confidential bidding process for these franchises.

Roads: Accidents

John Bercow: To ask the Secretary of State for Transport what percentage of road accidents which resulted in death or serious injury involved drivers aged  (a) over 75,  (b) between 40 and 74 and  (c) 18 to 39 years old in the last 12 months.

Jim Fitzpatrick: The latest reported personal injury road accident data available are for 2006. Data for 2007 data will be published on 26 June 2008.
	In 2006, 4 per cent. of reported personal injury road accidents resulting in death or serious injury involved drivers aged 75 and over, 50 per cent. involved drivers aged between 40 and 74 years old and 65 per cent. involved drivers aged between 18 and 39 years old.
	The total of these percentages exceed 100 per cent. as some accidents involve more than one driver. Information on damage only accidents is not collected.

Speed Limits: Road Signs and Markings

Greg Knight: To ask the Secretary of State for Transport what the criteria are for the use of speed advisory signs on motorways; who is responsible for authorising the  (a) operation of such signs and  (b) the advisory speed displayed; what mechanisms are in place to provide assurance that such advice is appropriate; and if she will make a statement.

Tom Harris: The criteria that are used to set electronic speed advisory signs on the motorway are contained in the Policy and Procedures for the use of matrix signals by the Regional Control Centres which has been agreed between the Highways Agency (HA) and the Association of Chief Police Officers (ACPO). These signs can be set automatically by the system software or manually by the HA Regional Control Centre staff (RCC). The decision to set signals should be based on the information available and is the responsibility of the officer (Traffic Officer or police in charge of the incident at the scene) or the operator in the control room. Where an advisory speed limit sign is set manually by the operator, the decision on the advisory speed displayed is based upon information received from a number of sources including CCTV, traffic officers and police at the scene.
	An RCC operator who has set signals manually has to monitor the situation to revise the signal setting as necessary, to prevent the setting of a misleading or contradictory series of signals and VMS messages and remove them when the incident has cleared. The automatic system will clear the signal once the incident has cleared.

Transport: Research

Norman Baker: To ask the Secretary of State for Transport what analytical issues are subject to consideration by the Eddington Friends group; and if she will make a statement.

Jim Fitzpatrick: The Eddington Friends consider a broad range of implementation issues arising from the 'Towards a Sustainable Transport System' report.
	This includes advice on technical appraisal, the appraisal of wider productivity impacts, climate change analysis and analysis of scheme costs and benefits.

FOREIGN AND COMMONWEALTH AFFAIRS

Burma

Keith Simpson: To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs when the next meeting of his Department's Burma stakeholder group will be held; and what the Government's objectives for the meeting are.

Meg Munn: The most recent meeting of Burma stakeholders took place on 14 May, at which there was an exchange of views on the situation following Cyclone Nargis. There is no set date for the next meeting but it is our intention to maintain regular dialogue with stakeholders. The objective for all our stakeholder meetings is to exchange views and information with those groups and individuals that have an interest in Burma's future.

China: Human Rights

David Drew: To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs what reports he has received on the sentences handed down in China to demonstrators and human rights activists over Tibet; and if he will make a statement.

Meg Munn: We are deeply concerned about the recent sentencing of Tibetans in connection with the demonstrations in Lhasa in March. Together, with EU partners, we continue to urge China to guarantee fair trials for all the accused, including access for defendants to Counsel of their choice and access for independent observers to trials.

Cuba: Political Prisoners

David Drew: To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs what reports he has received on the number of political prisoners in Cuba; and what recent representations he has made to the Government of Cuba on this matter.

Meg Munn: I refer the hon. Member to the answer I gave to the hon. Member for Buckingham (John Bercow) on 13 May 2008,  Official Report, column 1478W.
	The EU Common Position on Cuba calls for the release of all political prisoners. We regularly raise the situation of political prisoners with the Cuban authorities, both in London and Havana, and call for their immediate release. Most recently, I raised the release of political prisoners with Jaime Crombert Hernandez-Baquero, Vice President of the National Assembly of People's Power, in November 2007 and Cuban Vice Foreign Minister, Eumelio Caballero, in April 2008.

Departmental Internet

Mark Francois: To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs how many unique visitors there have been to each site on his Department's bloggers platform in the last 12 months.

Jim Murphy: The statistics available to the Foreign and Commonwealth Office for the blogging platform are for the site as a whole and show the number of sessions. From September 2007 (when the site was set up) to 14 May 2008, there were 2,393,244 individual sessions on the platform. The statistics are not broken down by individual blog, nor can we say how many unique visitors there were.

Simon Mann

Julian Lewis: To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs when he was last given any substantive information about the  (a) welfare of,  (b) proposed trial of and  (c) other matters relevant to Mr. Simon Mann by the Equatorial Guinea authorities.

Meg Munn: The Equatorial Guinea authorities have recently given us assurances about Simon Mann's welfare. We have not been given any further information about the proposed trial.

Somalia: Peace Negotiations

David Drew: To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs what steps he is taking to engage civil society in Somalia in the peace process.

Meg Munn: Our high commission in Nairobi maintains regular contact with representatives of civil society groups in Somalia. In the UK, we maintain contact with representatives of the British Somali communities who also have an important role in supporting civil society groups in Somalia.
	The UN Secretary-General's Special Representative for Somalia, Ahmedou Ould Abdalla, held an international civil society meeting in Uganda from 11-13 March 2008, which was funded by the European Commission and attended by high commission officials. The meeting explored ways for civil society to contribute to reconciliation and peace building in Somalia.
	The UK supports the efforts of the UN Special Representative for Somalia to engage with civil society and to help bring about social and political reconciliation that will lead to greater respect for human rights and religious freedoms for all Somalis.

Somalia: Piracy

Keith Simpson: To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs when a UN Security Council Resolution on Somalia addressing piracy issues is expected.

Meg Munn: The UN Security Council is currently considering a draft Resolution on piracy, which has been co-sponsored by the UK. We hope the Resolution will be adopted as soon as possible once discussion in the Council is complete.

Sudan: Peace Negotiations

Keith Simpson: To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs what progress has been made on the organisation of peace talks on Darfur in London between the Government of Sudan, rebel groups and other stakeholders, following the Prime Minister's offer in April 2008 to host such talks; and whether a date has been agreed for the talks.

Meg Munn: My right hon. Friend the Prime Minister has offered further UK support for international efforts, including a possible meeting in the UK, if that would help revitalise the Darfur political process. We are exploring the scope for this with the UN, the African Union, Sudan's neighbours, international partners, the Government of Sudan and the Darfur Movements.

Sudan: Peacekeeping Operations

Keith Simpson: To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs what recent discussions have been held with the AU and UN Special Envoys to Darfur, Salid Ahmed Salim and Jan Eliasson; and what the outcome was of those discussions.

Meg Munn: We have had contacts with the African Union (AU) and UN Special Envoys at ministerial and official level. We also have regular contacts with their staff. These discussions are part of our ongoing efforts to support AU/UN activity to move the Darfur political process forward.

Sudan: Peacekeeping Operations

Keith Simpson: To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs how many  (a) troops and  (b) civilian personnel made up the UN-AU Joint Hybrid Mission to Darfur on 1 May; and if he will make a statement.

Meg Munn: As of 1 May the UN-African Union (AU) Mission in Darfur consisted of approximately 7,500 troops, 1,700 police, and 1,500 civilian personnel. We are working closely with the UN, the AU and international partners to support the full deployment of the mission as soon as possible.

Uganda: Peace Negotiations

David Drew: To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs what assistance he is providing to the process of peace-building in Northern Uganda.

Meg Munn: Over the last two years, the UK has provided over £40 million in humanitarian aid, and other assistance, to Northern Uganda, These resources have been used to help displaced people return to their homes and support other activities identified as priorities in the Government of Uganda's peace, recovery and development plan for the north. The UK has also contributed £1 million to the Juba Initiative Fund, to help support the Juba peace talks.

HEALTH

Alcoholic Drinks

Stephen Hesford: To ask the Secretary of State for Health what steps his Department is taking to raise public awareness of the size of alcohol units in relation to standard measures served; and whether his Department has undertaken research to discover levels of public awareness of appropriate levels of alcohol consumption.

Dawn Primarolo: On 19 May, the Government launched the first major advertising campaign to raise awareness about units and to help people to estimate how much alcohol they drink. The Government will spend £10 million this year on national alcohol campaigns.
	The units strand of the Know Your Limits campaign includes a series of adverts on television, radio, billboards and press. A new online calculator can be downloaded to help people add up the units in their drinks. There are free materials, including posters and leaflets.
	The inclusion of unit content and sensible drinking advice on most drinks labels by the end of 2008, by agreement with the alcohol industry, will also raise awareness of units and health risks.
	The "Drinking: adults' behaviour and knowledge in 2007" report is based on information collected by the Office for National Statistics Omnibus survey covering adults in the United Kingdom. The latest report published in January is the seventh in a series and includes information on peoples' knowledge of alcohol units and benchmarks (the sensible drinking guidelines on regular daily intake), their awareness of unit labelling, what people drink, where and with whom and whether they had discussed drinking with a medical professional.
	The report found that in Great Britain in 2007, 85 per cent. of adults had heard of measuring alcohol consumption in units, compared with 79 per cent. in 1997. It also found that there has been an increase from 54 per cent. in 1997 to 69 per cent. in 2007 in the proportion of adults who had heard of the sensible drinking guidelines on regular daily intake. In 2007, around 40 per cent. of these adults did not know what the benchmarks were.
	The Government commissioned a YouGov poll to inform the new alcohol units campaign described above. The YouGov poll shows that the majority of men (78 per cent.) and women (76 per cent.) do not know how many units are in a large glass of wine and that 56 per cent. of men and 60 per cent. of women do not know how many units are in a double gin and tonic.

Alcoholic Drinks: Misuse

David Simpson: To ask the Secretary of State for Health what percentage of people attending accident and emergency departments in England presented with  (a) alcohol-related conditions and  (b) injuries in which alcohol was a contributory cause in each of the last three years, broken down by region.

Dawn Primarolo: This information is not held centrally.

Alcoholic Drinks: Misuse

Sally Keeble: To ask the Secretary of State for Health what estimate his Department has made of the numbers of people admitted to hospital accident and emergency departments as a result of binge drinking in the latest period for which figures are available.

Dawn Primarolo: Information on numbers of people who attend accident and emergency departments as a result of binge drinking is not held centrally.

Blood: Medical Treatments

David Amess: To ask the Secretary of State for Health how many NHS treatments involving  (a) adult and  (b) cord blood stem cells are ongoing; and if he will make a statement.

Dawn Primarolo: One of the most successful exploitations of adult stem cells to date has been in the use of bone marrow transplantation for a variety of conditions including leukaemia and lymphoma. More than 2,500 bone marrow transplantations are performed each year in the United Kingdom. More recently, cord blood stem cells have been used as an alternative source of stem cells. In the past three years, the NHS Cord Blood Bank has issued both unrelated and directed cord blood units to treat 115 patients and these numbers continue to grow annually.

Cancer: East of England

Andrew Lansley: To ask the Secretary of State for Health 
	(1)  what guidance his Department has issued to the East of England Strategic Health Authority on the provision of oncological services in the region in the last three years;
	(2)  what provisions there are in the private finance initiative agreement between his Department and the Norfolk and Norwich University Hospitals NHS Foundation Trust on the number of  (a) oncological procedures and  (b) head and neck cancer procedures to be carried out at the Norfolk and Norwich Hospital.

Ann Keen: It is for local primary care trusts (PCTs) in conjunction with their strategic health authorities (SHAs) and other stakeholders to plan and commission services for their local populations, including oncological services. The Department has not issued any guidance to the East of England SHA on the provision of oncological services in the region.
	Since May 2005, the National Institute for Health and Clinical Excellence (NICE) has issued Improving Outcomes Guidance (IOG) to the national health service on four cancer tumour sites—Children and Young People with Cancer (August 2005), Skin Tumours including melanoma (February 2006), Sarcoma (March 2006) and Brain (June 2006). The IOG series sets out recommendations on how services for patients with cancers should be organised in order to ensure the best outcomes. Implementation of NICE guidance is a developmental standard and the Healthcare Commission is responsible for assessing progress of healthcare organisations towards achieving developmental standards.
	Private finance initiative contracts are held locally between NHS trusts and the contractors, and contain no clauses for the provision of clinical services.

Cervical Cancer: Screening

Jon Trickett: To ask the Secretary of State for Health what proportion of women in  (a) Hemsworth constituency and  (b) England received cervical smear tests within the recommended period of time in the last 12 months.

Ann Keen: I refer my hon. Friend to the response I gave the hon. Member for Boston and Skegness (Mark Simmonds) on 31 January 2008,  Official Report, columns 617-36W, which provides information on cervical screening coverage across England, broken down by primary care trust.
	Coverage is the percentage of eligible women who have had a cervical screening test result in the previous five years.

Drugs: Rehabilitation

Norman Lamb: To ask the Secretary of State for Health how many prescriptions were dispensed for  (a) subutex,  (b) methadone and  (c) other opiate replacements in each strategic health authority in each of the last five years.

Dawn Primarolo: The information requested is set out in the following tables.
	The Government have made a substantial investment in drug treatment with £604 million being spent in 2007-08 compared to £287 million in 2001-02. The increased dispensing is largely a reflection of the significant increase in the numbers of patients in drug treatment over the past 10 years, increases in dosages and people staying in treatment longer (a measure of effectiveness) thereby receiving more prescriptions.
	
		
			  Prescription items for subutex( 1 ) dispensed in the community in England 
			  Thousand 
			  Strategic health authority (SHA)  February to December 2003( 2)  2004  2005  2006  2007 
			 East of England 22.4 38.8 45.1 51.9 53.3 
			 London 21.1 34.9 49.6 68.4 71.4 
			 North East 17.0 29.8 35.0 39.5 42.0 
			 North West 41.2 63.0 71.4 85.9 87.3 
			 South Central 26.6 41.7 47.2 51.1 49.6 
			 South East Coast 17.1 30.8 32.2 33.3 32.4 
			 South West 29.2 40.6 45.9 53.3 59.4 
			 West Midlands 48.2 66.8 69.3 72.4 71.8 
			 Yorkshire and the Humber 48.8 82.4 92.9 104.8 103.3 
			 Total 292.0 462.8 532.7 610.8 621.0 
			  Source: Prescription Cost Analysis (PCA). 
		
	
	
		
			  Prescription items for methadone( 3)  (all formulations) dispensed in the community in England 
			  Thousand 
			  SHA  February to December 2003( 2)  2004  2005  2006  2007 
			 East of England 104.8 125.7 137.4 151.4 167.3 
			 London 219.7 253.5 264.6 278.4 299.0 
			 North East 95.6 141.5 167.2 183.2 193.6 
			 North West 404.8 455.9 473.3 492.9 514.5 
			 South Central 70.8 76.6 91.3 102.3 117.8 
			 South East Coast 68.8 75.1 78.7 89.4 108.0 
			 South West 125.8 150.8 169.7 182.5 204.7 
			 West Midlands 141.6 188.1 226.6 265.8 291.8 
			 Yorkshire and the Humber 176.4 232.5 293.9 355.9 394.2 
			 Total 1,486.7 1,810.0 2,044.0 2,277.1 2,491.9 
			  Source: PCA. 
		
	
	
		
			  Prescription items for suboxone( 4)  dispensed in the community in England 
			  Thousand 
			  SHA  2006  2007 
			 East of England 0 0.9 
			 London 0 0.2 
			 North East 0 0.3 
			 North West 0 2.9 
			 South Central 0 3.3 
			 South East Coast 0 0.6 
			 South West 0 2.9 
			 West Midlands <0.1 1.0 
			 Yorkshire and the Humber 0 6.3 
			 Total <0.1 19.3 
			 (1) Subutex is a brand name for buprenorphine and is a substitution treatment for opioid drug dependence. (2) The prescription pricing division of the NHS business services authority keeps data for only 60 months. The figures provided cover the period from February 2003 up to the end of 2007. The SHA is the one in which the prescription was dispensed. (3 )Methadone is prescribed for use in the treatment of opioid drug addiction, however it is also used in the treatment of cough in terminal disease and analgesia. The figures reflect prescriptions dispensed for all indications and formulations. (4) The only other substantive treatment for opioid drug dependence is suboxone, a combination of buprenorphine and naloxone. This was not dispensed earlier than 1 December 2006.  Source:  PCA.

Exercise

Andy Reed: To ask the Secretary of State for Health what consideration he has given to subsidising participation in physical activity and sport to effect improvements in quality adjusted life years.

Dawn Primarolo: As stated in the "Healthy Weight Healthy Lives: A Cross Government Strategy for England", the Department is considering a range of different kinds of interventions to tackle the burden of lifestyle diseases. We are in discussions with the fitness industry and other stakeholders about ways in which we can encourage more people to become more physically active. Copies of the strategy are available in the Library.
	The Department is building its knowledge of which interventions are most effective in encouraging individuals and families to change their behaviour and will provide resources to seek to pilot and evaluate a range of different approaches to encourage healthy living.

Food: Salt

Martyn Jones: To ask the Secretary of State for Health if he will issue guidance to sub-groups of the population that may experience adverse consequences from restricted sodium consumption, with particular reference to pregnant women, the elderly and those who take regular strenuous exercise.

Dawn Primarolo: In 2003, the Scientific Advisory Committee on Nutrition (SACN) published its report, 'Salt and Health', and recommended that the average daily intake of salt by all adults should be reduced to six grams per day. SACN found no evidence to suggest that such a reduction in salt intake would have adverse effects on any particular group in the population including pregnant women, the elderly and those who are exposed to conditions that cause extreme sweating. We are not aware of any substantive evidence published since the SACN report to suggest any adverse effects on reducing salt intake to these sub-groups. Copies of the SACN report are available in the Library.

Hospital Beds

Andrew Lansley: To ask the Secretary of State for Health what percentage of hospital beds in England were in single rooms at the latest date for which figures are available.

Ben Bradshaw: For the existing health care estate in England, the latest figures show that the proportion of available beds that are in single rooms has risen from 22.6 per cent. in 2002-03 to 27.9 per cent. in 2006-07.
	For new hospital developments, the Department's guidance is that the proportion of single rooms should aim to be 50 per cent., but should not fall below 20 per cent. and must be higher than the facilities they are replacing. Each trust makes an informed choice regarding the appropriate percentage of single bed provision based on practical considerations such as site restrictions, affordability as well as clinical and operational limitations. The policy and design guidance for the provision of single rooms in mental health accommodation is 100 per cent.

Human Fertilisation and Embryology Bill

Andrew Lansley: To ask the Secretary of State for Health when  (a) he and  (b) Ministers in his Department last met (i) stem cell and embryo scientists and (ii) medical researchers to discuss matters included in the Human Fertilisation and Embryology Bill.

Dawn Primarolo: My right hon. Friend the Secretary of State, last met scientists and medical researchers formally to discuss the Bill on 12 March 2008. I last met scientists and medical researchers formally on 29 April 2008.

NHS: Private Sector

Alan Meale: To ask the Secretary of State for Health if he will ensure that contracts which primary care trusts, NHS trusts and foundation trusts have with private sector providers of health and social care allow members of local involvement networks to enter the premises of providers to monitor the quality of the work they provide under such contracts.

Ann Keen: On 1 April 2008 we issued Directions to organisations commissioning health and social care services. Under these Directions those organisations must ensure that new contracts with independent providers allow for authorised representatives of local involvement networks (LINks) to enter and view, and observe the carrying on of activities in, premises which are owned or controlled by the independent provider. The Directions entitled: "Local Involvement Networks—Briefing for independent providers", have been placed in the Library and are available on the Department's website at:
	www.dh.gov.uk/en/Publicationsandstatistics/Publications/PublicationsPolicyAndGuidance/DH_083837
	The Directions do not apply to national health service foundation trusts (FTs). The standard NHS contract for acute services contains provisions to ensure that new NHS FTs or those whose existing contracts have expired comply, in their role as providers, with all reasonable requests from LINks either to enter and view services or to provide information.

NHS: Public Participation

Alan Meale: To ask the Secretary of State for Health what arrangements there are for local involvement network (LINk) members to be provided with legal indemnity by his Department when they undertake activities on behalf of a LINk.

Ann Keen: There are no central arrangements to provide indemnity for those involved in local involvement networks. This is a matter to be determined locally.

NHS: Public Participation

Alan Meale: To ask the Secretary of State for Health 
	(1)  if he will make provision for a financial loss allowance for members of local involvement networks;
	(2)  if he will take steps to ensure local involvement network (LINk) members are paid expenses by the host organisation when they undertake activities on behalf of a LINk.

Ann Keen: It is for each local involvement network (LINk) to determine its own policy regarding payment and reimbursement, including the payment of allowances and expenses. We have reminded LINks, and host organisations, that the Department's "Reward and Recognition: The principles and practice of service user payment and reimbursement in health and social care" document provides a useful guide on these matters. Copies of this publication are available in the Library.

NHS: Public Participation

Alan Meale: To ask the Secretary of State for Health whether budgets for local involvement networks will be increased to reflect the additional responsibilities they have compared with patients' forums.

Ann Keen: Local involvement networks operate in different ways and are funded differently from the way patients' forums operated and were funded and the methods are not comparable. The amounts provided to local authorities (LAs) have been worked out according to the needs of each LA area. We have no plans to review the funding allocations.

NHS: Public Participation

Alan Meale: To ask the Secretary of State for Health if he will consider the merits of funding local involvement networks to help establish networks to monitor  (a) cancer,  (b) mental health,  (c) ambulance and  (d) other services commissioned regionally and nationally.

Ann Keen: I refer my hon. Friend to the answer given to the hon. Member for Eddisbury (Mr. O'Brien) on 10 March 2008,  Official Report, column 96W.

NHS: Questionnaires

Theresa May: To ask the Secretary of State for Health pursuant to the answer of 6 May 2008,  Official Report, columns 771-3W, on the NHS: questionnaires, what steps his Department  (a) has taken and  (b) plans to take as a result of the findings of each survey.

Ben Bradshaw: Pursuant to the answer of 6 May 2008,  Official Report, columns 771-3W, the Department does not collect, centrally, information on surveys it commissions. To identify individual surveys, in order to provide information in the format requested would attract disproportionate cost.

NHS: Working Hours

Stephen O'Brien: To ask the Secretary of State for Health pursuant to the Answer of 9 May 2008,  Official Report, column 1258W, on working hours, when the Sheffield research will be published.

Ann Keen: The independent research on the impact of the European Working Time Directive on medical training by Sheffield university will be published in the summer.

Obesity: Surgery

Norman Lamb: To ask the Secretary of State for Health how many patients had gastric bypass surgery in each hospital trust in each of the last three years for which figures are available.

Dawn Primarolo: The information has been placed in the Library. The table gives the number of finished consultant episodes for 2004-05 to 2006-07.

Palliative Care

Norman Lamb: To ask the Secretary of State for Health what estimate he has made of the proportion of all paid-for prescriptions which were for a long-term condition in the latest period for which figures are available, broken down by condition.

Dawn Primarolo: Information is not held in the format requested.

Palliative Care

Norman Lamb: To ask the Secretary of State for Health what estimate he has made of the number of people with long-term conditions aged between 16 and 60 years.

Ann Keen: We have made no estimate of the number of people with long-term conditions aged between 16 and 60.

Pathology

Norman Lamb: To ask the Secretary of State for Health 
	(1)  how many reviews of histopathology services were conducted in each strategic health authority in each of the last three years;
	(2)  how many histopathology samples were reviewed by NHS trusts following concerns about discrepancies in histopathology laboratories in each of the last three years.

Dawn Primarolo: The Department does not routinely collect information centrally about reviews of histopathology services or the number of histopathology samples reviewed by national health service trusts.

Patient Choice Schemes

Stephen O'Brien: To ask the Secretary of State for Health 
	(1)  how many patients have been affected by a Choose and Book system error since the system's inception;
	(2)  how many times unique reference numbers for Choose and Book have been transposed between patients since the system's inception.

Ben Bradshaw: We are aware of only one choose and book system error that has affected patients. Out of 8.5 million bookings made, the error is known to have affected 272 bookings, between 11 April 2008 and 24 April 2008 through the transposition of unique reference numbers.
	The affected cases were quickly identified and action was taken to minimise any potential impact for patients. All hospitals and patients were contacted where the possibility had arisen of notification of incorrect appointments resulting from the error. In many cases it was established that no adverse effect on patients had occurred and at no time was patient confidentiality compromised.
	The supplier made corrections to the system and no recurrence of the problem has been experienced since 24 April 2008. While no further recurrence is expected in future, an automated process has been put in place to identify the problem immediately if that should happen.

Pharmacy: General Practitioners

Bill Wiggin: To ask the Secretary of State for Health what assessment he has made of the safety, efficiency and cost effectiveness implications of the plans to cease dispensing by doctors.

Dawn Primarolo: There are no plans to cease dispensing by doctors. Dispensing doctors play a pivotal role in ensuring continued access to pharmaceutical services and providing patient care for those who need it.
	The White Paper "Pharmacy in England; Building on Strengths—Delivering the Future", looks at aligning the future provision of pharmaceutical services and sets out proposals to look at the market entry criteria for doctors and pharmacists—but no decision has yet been taken on the criteria to be used in future for patients to receive pharmaceutical services from their general practitioner. Copies of the White Paper are available in the Library.
	A consultation paper will be launched in late summer after the publication of the primary and community care strategy. We will consider fully the impact of any proposals on patients, the national health service and contractors.

Prescriptions: ICT

Stephen O'Brien: To ask the Secretary of State for Health pursuant to the Answer of 21 April 2008,  Official Report, columns 1810-11W, on prescriptions: ICT, what the reasons are for the difference between the number of electronic prescriptions service (EPS) prescription messages generated by GPs and the number of EPS dispense notification messages sent by pharmacies.

Ben Bradshaw: During the transition from paper based prescriptions to electronic prescriptions, we are committed to ensuring that patients have the choice of going to any community pharmacy or other dispensing contractor to get their prescriptions whether they have the appropriate information technology capability or not. This results in a larger number of electronic prescription messages being issued than are dispensed.

Prostate Cancer

Jon Trickett: To ask the Secretary of State for Health pursuant to the answer to the hon. Member for South-West Norfolk of 9 May 2008,  Official Report, columns 1226-32W, on prostate cancer, what assessment he has made of the reasons for the trend in the number of diagnoses of prostate cancer since 1997.

Ann Keen: The main reason for the increase in the number of prostate cancers diagnosed is the introduction of the Prostate Specific Antigen test in the early 1990s, although this increase was on top of an existing underlying trend of more cases.
	Alongside this increase in prostate cancers diagnosed the mortality rate from prostate cancer has continued to decline in recent years. The five-year survival has increased from 42.4 per cent. between 1986 and 1990, to 74.4 per cent. between 1999 and 2003.

Prostate Cancer: Screening

Jon Trickett: To ask the Secretary of State for Health when he expects Government-funded trials for prostate cancer screening to report; and if he will make a statement.

Ann Keen: The Government are not currently funding trials for prostate cancer screening. There is currently insufficient evidence from any country in the world to show that screening would reduce deaths from prostate cancer. The Government are committed to introducing a national screening programme for prostate cancer if and when screening and treatment techniques are sufficiently well developed. The UK National Screening Committee keeps screening for prostate cancer under review, and research under way in both Europe and the United States of America is being monitored.
	The Department is supporting the development of screening technology for prostate cancer by having a comprehensive research strategy into all aspects of prostate cancer. We are jointly with other National Cancer Research Institute (NCRI) members funding two NCRI Prostate Cancer Research Collaboratives, and the Department is funding half of the total £7.4 million cost. In addition, the Department is funding a £20 million trial of treatments for prostate specific antigen screen-detected early prostate cancer, the ProtecT trial and supporting a comparison trial to run alongside it.

TREASURY

Capital Gains Tax

Austin Mitchell: To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer if he will estimate the additional revenue from capital gains tax if it were levied on companies at the same rate as corporation tax in 2008-09.

Jane Kennedy: No additional revenues would be raised. Companies are not subject to capital gains tax, instead any chargeable gains accruing to them are charged to corporation tax as part of their total profits. Consequently companies' chargeable gains are already taxed at the relevant rate of corporation tax for 2008-09.

Capital Gains Tax

Austin Mitchell: To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer if he will estimate the additional revenue from capital gains tax if it were levied on individuals at the basic rate of income tax in 2008-09.

Jane Kennedy: A reform of this kind would result in a large behavioural response and such estimates are susceptible to a wide margin of error. A broad estimate of the eventual steady state impact, taking account of the likely taxpayer response to such a change, is additional receipts in the order of £400 million a year by comparison with the current capital gains tax regime.

Council Tax

Eric Pickles: To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer how many notification changes have been made to the Valuation Office Agency's Council Tax List with a code of CL26 (correction of inaccuracy) in the last 12 months.

Jane Kennedy: Of the 22.5 million entries in the council tax valuation lists in England, 56,122 (0.25 per cent.) were reviewed and cleared in 2007-08 using code CL26.

Departmental Public Participation

Stewart Hosie: To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer what consultants were contracted by his Department to conduct public participation activities in the last three years; and how much expenditure his Department has incurred on each such contract.

Angela Eagle: Information on consultants used to conduct public participation activities is contained within the total external consultancy figures and cannot be separately identified without incurring disproportionate cost.

Families: Clwyd

Chris Ruane: To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer what steps his Department has taken to help working families in the Vale of Clwyd since 1997.

Jane Kennedy: Since 1997 the Government have introduced a number of policies to make work pay and help working families.
	The working tax credit (WTC) provides financial support on top of earnings, and together with the national minimum wage (NMW) helps to improve work incentives and relieve in-work poverty. The child care element of WTC improves the financial rewards for parents from work, and gives them the financial flexibility to choose the child care arrangements that are most appropriate for their families. It offers low-to-moderate-income families support with up to 80 per cent. of child care costs up to a limit of £300 per week for two or more children. In addition, families in work are eligible for the child tax credit. Taken together, these policies mean that form October 2008, the guaranteed minimum income for a family with one child working full-time will be £292 a week.
	The Government are committed to helping parents balance work and family life, including introducing enhanced maternity, paternity and adoption leave, the right for parents to request flexible working.
	The Government are also trialing new ways of ensuring that work pays. From October 2008 the Government will pilot a new better off in work credit which will reassure long-term recipients of incapacity benefit (ESA on its introduction), income support, or jobseeker's allowance that if they enter full-time work they will have an in work income, including any in work benefits or tax credits, of at least £25 per week more than they receive from their out of work benefits.

Immigration

James Clappison: To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer what estimate he has made of the effect of immigration on  (a) gross domestic product and  (b) per capita gross domestic product since 1997.

Angela Eagle: Migration has added around 0.5 per cent. per annum to the working age population between 1997 and 2006, stimulating growth in total output. Average output growth over this period was 2.7 per cent. and migration is estimated to have contributed around 15-20 per cent. of this.
	The direct impact of immigration on gross domestic product per capita has been small but broadly positive.
	The impact of immigration on the economy is discussed in more detail in a cross-departmental report(1) in sections 3.3 and 3.4.
	(1) Home Office and Department of Work and Pensions (2007). The Economic and Fiscal Impact of Immigration: A Cross-Departmental Submission to the House of Lords Select Committee on Economic Affairs:
	http://www.homeoffice.gov.uk/documents/economic-impact-of-immigration.

Immigration

James Clappison: To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer what projection the Government Actuary's Department has made of changes in population over 50 years per million immigrants; and if he will make a statement.

Angela Eagle: The Government Actuary's Department (GAD) has made no such projection since responsibility for the production of the national population projections transferred from GAD to the Office for National Statistics (ONS) on 31 January 2006. This transfer was recommended by an independent review of the actuarial profession and of GAD conducted by Sir Derek Morris. The latest set of population projections produced by ONS—and the first since the transfer of responsibility took place—was published on 23 October 2007.
	(http://www.statistics.gov.uk/pdfdir/pproj1007.pdf).

Income Tax: Crewe

Vincent Cable: To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer how many people in Crewe and Nantwich constituency paid only the 10 pence rate of income tax in 2007-08; and if he will make a statement.

Jane Kennedy: holding answer 14 May 2008
	The estimated number of taxpayers in each Government office region paying tax only at the starting rate of income tax for 2007-08 is shown in Table 2.2 'Number of individual income taxpayers by country and region', which is available from HM Revenue and Customs website at:
	http://www.hmrc.gov.uk/stats/income_tax/menu.htm
	Reliable information on the number of taxpayers who pay income tax at the 10p starting rate for geographic areas below country and region are not available but information on the total number of taxpayers in each parliamentary constituency is shown in Table T3.15. These tables can be found at the HM Revenue and Customs website at:
	http://www.hmrc.gov.uk/stats/income_distribution/menu.htm
	These estimates are based on the latest available Survey of Personal Incomes (2005-06).
	The removal of the 10p rate from 2008-09 is part of a package of reforms announced in Budget 2007 and should not be looked at in isolation. Individuals previously paying tax only at the starting rate of income tax could be better off through other measures, for example, higher age related personal allowances or increased tax credits. Individuals paying tax at the starting rate on their savings will not be affected as this rate will be replaced by a new starting rate for savings income.
	The Chancellor announced on 13 May an increase in the individual personal tax allowance by £600 to £6,035 for this financial year, benefiting all basic-rate taxpayers under 65 and removing 600,000 low-income individuals from tax. Around 22 million basic-rate taxpayers will gain an additional £120 this year, fully compensating 80 per cent. of households that lose from the Budget 2007 reforms, with the remainder seeing their loss at least halved. The Government will set out their plans for future years in the 2008 pre-Budget report.

Income Tax: Overpayments

Jeremy Wright: To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer what funds arising from the overpayments of income tax on the part of pension funds HM Customs and Revenue held at the latest date for which figures are available.

Jane Kennedy: holding answer 23 April 2008
	 In 2007-08 HMRC repaid a total of £2.2 billion to registered pension schemes. This was in respect of tax relief at source relating to contributions made to pension schemes and certain tax on investment income received by schemes. Such repayments are claimed routinely by pension scheme trustees and administrators and are made to pension schemes on a regular basis by HMRC.

Income Tax: Tax Allowances

Peter Bottomley: To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer on what date he approved the increase in personal allowance as announced on 13 May 2008.

Jane Kennedy: In the letter from the Chancellor of the Exchequer to the Chairman of the Treasury Committee of 23 April, the Chancellor said he would set out our proposals to help those who lost out as a result of the withdrawal of the 10p starting rate of tax for the longer term in the pre-Budget report later this year. He also said that he would not wait unnecessarily until November before setting out how we intended to proceed. His announcement on 13 May is fully consistent with these commitments.

Income Tax: Tax Rates and Bands

Simon Burns: To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer what estimate he has made of the number of people in  (a) West Chelmsford constituency and  (b) Chelmsford Local Authority area who have been adversely affected by the abolition of the 10 pence income tax rate.

Jane Kennedy: Budget 2007 announced a package of reforms from which over 16 million households gained and over five million households lost out. It is not possible to provide comparable figures of those who have been affected by the withdrawal of the 10 pence starting rate for parliamentary constituency or local authority areas.
	The Chancellor announced income tax measures on 13 May to provide financial support in 2008-09 for all basic rate taxpaying families, fully compensating 80 per cent. of households adversely affected by the withdrawal of the 10 pence starting rate and with the remainder seeing their loss at least halved.
	The Chancellor will set out proposals to help those who lost out as a result of the withdrawal of the 10 pence starting rate of tax for the longer term in the Pre-Budget Report.

Income Tax: Tax Rates and Bands

Peter Bottomley: To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer on what date the 10 pence income tax band was first announced or described by his Department as an interim or transitional measure; and if he will make a statement.

Jane Kennedy: I refer the hon. Member to the statement made by the Chancellor of the Exchequer on 13 May 2008.

Members: Correspondence

Gerald Kaufman: To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer when he plans to answer the letter to him dated 6 March 2008 from the right hon. Member for Manchester, Gorton on Mrs Eileen Flint.

Jane Kennedy: The Chancellor has replied to my right hon. Friend.

Members: Correspondence

Michael Spicer: To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer when he will reply to the letter from the hon. Member for West Worcestershire, dated 29 February 2008, on income tax rates for those on low incomes (PO reference: 1/54749/2008).

Jane Kennedy: holding answer 28 April 2008
	I replied to the hon. Member on the 14 May.

Members: Correspondence

Gerald Kaufman: To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer when he plans to reply to the letter of 18 March 2008 from the right hon. Member for Manchester, Gorton on Ms M. George.

Jane Kennedy: I have replied to the right hon. Member.

Members: Correspondence

Gerald Kaufman: To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer when he plans to reply to the letter of 10 March 2008 from the right hon. Member for Manchester, Gorton on Mrs E. Flint.

Jane Kennedy: The Chancellor has replied to the right hon. Member.

Stamp Duty Land Tax

Robert Wilson: To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer what estimate his Department has made of the average stamp duty paid by a first-time buyer in  (a) Reading,  (b) England and  (c) the UK in the most recent period for which figures are available.

Kitty Ussher: No estimate has been made of the stamp duty land tax paid by first time buyers.

Tax Avoidance

Austin Mitchell: To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer how many tax avoidance schemes have been disclosed to HM Revenue and Customs (HMRC); and how many of those have been  (a) accepted and  (b) rejected by HMRC.

Jane Kennedy: The numbers of disclosures received under both the direct and indirect tax disclosure regimes are published on the HMRC internet every six months. The latest statistics showing figures to 31 March 2008 can be accessed using the following link:-
	http://www.hmrc.gov.uk/avoidance/avoidance-disclosure-statistics.htm
	The regime is a tool which is intended to provide HMRC with early information in order to identify and counteract the use of avoidance schemes so that the Government can legislate quickly to close any loopholes. The regime requires avoidance promoters to provide HMRC with details of schemes that fall within certain descriptions within five days of them being made available or implemented. It does not incorporate any acceptance or rejection type process. A disclosure would only be declined if it were made in error, for example if it concerned matters outside the scope of the disclosure regime.

Taxation: Ex-servicemen

Patrick Mercer: To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer what proportion of former service personnel receiving a Ministry of Defence pension had income below the ceiling of the 10 pence income tax band in 2007-08.

Jane Kennedy: The information requested is not available.

Taxation: Northern Ireland

Gregory Campbell: To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer how many people with a BT postcode living in Northern Ireland missed the 31 January deadline for filing their tax returns.

Jane Kennedy: holding answer 9 May 2008
	24,572 people with a BT postcode, required to complete a 2006-07 self assessment tax return, missed the 31 January 2008 filing deadline.

Valuation Office: Consultants

Eric Pickles: To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer what contracts were awarded by  (a) the Valuation Office Agency and  (b) HM Revenue and Customs on behalf of the Valuation Office Agency to consultancy firms in the last 12 months.

Jane Kennedy: The information is as follows:
	 (a) Contracts have been awarded to four separate consultancies
	 (b) None.

Welfare Tax Credits

Mark Hoban: To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer how many completed  (a) TC600,  (b) MA1 and  (c) CH2 forms his Department has (i) received and processed and (ii) lost in each of the last five years for which figures are available.

Jane Kennedy: The information is as follows.
	(i) Numbers of forms received and processed are shown in the following table.
	(ii) Information on the numbers of forms lost is not available.
	
		
			   TC600  CH2  MA1 
			 2003-04 2,500,000 820,000 70,000 
			 2004-05 1,500,000 940,000 71,000 
			 2005-06 1,500,000 1,000,000 73,000 
			 2006-07 1,200,000 900,000 75,000 
			 2007-08 1,200,000 875,000 86,000

Welfare Tax Credits

David Gauke: To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer what costs have been incurred by HM Revenue and Customs as a consequence of tax credit cases under investigation by the Financial Ombudsman in each of the last three years.

Jane Kennedy: HM Revenue and Customs are not aware that the Financial Ombudsman Service has investigated any tax credits cases.

Welfare Tax Credits: Fraud

Danny Alexander: To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer 
	(1)  in how many cases HM Revenue and Customs and its predecessor  (a) imposed a penalty under section 31 of the Tax Credits Act 2003 for making an incorrect statement or declaration or supplying incorrect information or evidence and  (b) imposed a penalty under section 32(3) of the Tax Credits Act 2002 for failing to notify a specified change of circumstances in each year since 2003;
	(2)  in how many cases HM Revenue and Customs and its predecessor applied to the Appeals Service under section 32(1) and (2) of, and Schedule 2 to, the Tax Credits Act 2002 for a summons against an individual on evidence of failing to comply with a requirement regarding a final notice in each year since April 2003.

Jane Kennedy: A breakdown between penalties imposed under section 31 and section 32(3) is not available.
	The following table shows the total number of penalties imposed under sections 31 and 32(3) of the Tax Credits Act 2002. No penalties were charged in 2003-04.
	
		
			   Number of cases 
			 2004-05 1,114 
			 2005-06 2,241 
			 2006-07 1,365 
			 2007-08 to 29 February 2008 955 
		
	
	HMRC made 12 applications in 2005-06 for a summons against an individual under section 32(1) and (2) of, and schedule 2 to, the Tax Credits Act 2002.16 applications were made in 2006-07 and five in 2007-08. No such applications were made in 2003-04 or 2004-05.

Welfare Tax Credits: Overpayments

Danny Alexander: To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer how many people receiving tax credits were involved in disputes relating to overpayments of benefit in each year since their inception; and how many of these cases were resolved  (a) in favour and  (b) not in favour of the claimant.

Jane Kennedy: In 2007-08, around 185,000 households disputed an overpayment and HM Revenue and Customs wrote off tax credits overpayments in part or in full for around 6,000 households. Information on the number of households disputing an overpayment is not available before August 2006 but for information relating to the number of disputes received and cases written off for 2004-05, 2005-06 and 2006-07, I refer the hon. Member to the answer I gave him on 17 March 2008,  Official Report, columns 901-02W.
	The figures for overpayments written off do not directly relate to those disputes that were received in the same period. TCO does not separately record whether an overpayment is written off in part or in full.

Welfare Tax Credits: Overpayments

Jon Trickett: To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer what the Government's policy is on recovering tax credit overpayments when the individual has no means to repay the debt.

Jane Kennedy: When seeking to recover any of the debts for which it is responsible, HM Revenue and Customs (HMRC) has a duty to strike a balance between a customer's ability to pay and its responsibility to recover monies properly owing to the Exchequer.
	HMRC's policy on the recovery of tax credits overpayments is set out in its Code of Practice 26 "What happens if we have paid you too much tax credit?" available at:
	http://www.hmrc.gov.uk/taxcredits/forms-leaflets.htm
	This makes it clear that HMRC will take into account a customer's ability to pay to ensure that vulnerable customers do not experience financial hardship.
	Where immediate, full payment is likely to cause the customer financial hardship, HMRC will normally reach an agreement to recover the debt over a longer period, usually 12 months. Where it is clear that a customer will still not be able to repay through such a staged arrangement, because they have little disposable income or assets, HMRC will normally suspend recovery but review the customer's circumstances at a later date to see if it would be possible to restart recovery because their financial circumstances have improved. Where it seems that a customer's financial circumstances are unlikely to change, for example because they are on long-term benefit or are seriously ill, HMRC will remit the debt.

WORK AND PENSIONS

Child Maintenance and Enforcement Commission: Finance

Kate Hoey: To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions what the budget of the Child Maintenance and Enforcement Commission will be for  (a) enforcement and  (b) encouraging voluntary arrangements in 2008-09.

James Plaskitt: Detailed cost planning for the commission is still under development, cost estimates are subject to change, and it is therefore not possible to provide the requested information at this time.
	Subject to passage of the Child Maintenance and Other Payments Bill it will be for the Commission to determine the budget for enforcement and encouraging voluntary arrangements once it is established.

Children: Maintenance

Danny Alexander: To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions how much unpaid maintenance was owed by the Child Support Agency to parents with care in each quarter since 2005; how much has been written off in each year since 2005 as uncollectable; and if he will make a statement.

James Plaskitt: The administration of the Child Support Agency is a matter for the chief executive. He will write to the hon. Member with the information requested.
	 Letter from Stephen Geraghty, dated 20 May 2008:
	In reply to your recent Parliamentary Question about the Child Support Agency, the Secretary of State promised a substantive reply from the Chief Executive.
	You asked the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions, how much unpaid maintenance was owed by the Child Support Agency to parents with care in each quarter since 2005; how much has been written off in each year since 2005 as uncollectable; and if he will make a statement.
	Unpaid child maintenance is not owed by the Child Support Agency but by those parents who have failed to meet their responsibilities towards their children.
	The Agency has increased the amount of child maintenance including arrears collected or arranged over the first two years of the Operational Improvement Plan, collecting a record-breaking £1 billion in the year to March 2008. In addition internal Agency figures show that the rate at which child maintenance debt has been growing continues to reduce. In the year to March 2008 child maintenance debt grew at a rate of £10 million a month, which is less than half the rate at which debt was growing in the year to March 2006.
	The amount of unpaid child maintenance owed at the end of each quarter for the period March 2005 to March 2008 is set out in the attached Table 1 including Agency internal figures for the year ending March 2008. This represents the total owed by parents, which has accrued over the 15 years of the Child Support Agency's operation.
	The Agency does not have the power to write off debt and has never done so. The Agency does, however, undertake an annual Debt Analysis Exercise based on a sample of cases, to estimate the amount of debt assessed as collectable, and that which is deemed either possibly, or probably uncollectable. The results of this annual sample exercise are subject to review by the National Audit Office as part of their audit of the Agency's accounts, therefore the estimate for the year ending March 2008 will be published with the Agency's 2008 Annual Report and Accounts later this year. The latest annual estimate of the collectability of unpaid child maintenance information is also available in Table 22a of the Quarterly Summary of Statistics, and has been set out in the attached Table 2 for ease.
	It should be noted that classing a debt as possibly or probably uncollectable does not mean the Agency will not take action in the future to collect any outstanding money. The Agency will continue to make every effort to ensure parents fulfil their financial responsibility to their children, to provide a stable foundation on which the new Child Maintenance and Enforcement Commission can build.
	I hope you find this answer helpful.
	
		
			  Table 1: Gross child maintenance debt (by quarter) 
			  Month  Total gross debt (£ billion) 
			 March 2005 3.3 
			 June 2005 3.3 
			 September 2005 3.4 
			 December 2005 3.4 
			 March 2006 3.5 
			 June 2006 3.6 
			 September 2006 3.6 
			 December 2006 3.6 
			 March 2007 3.7 
			 June 2007 3.7 
			 September 2007 3.7 
			 December 2007 3.8 
			 March 2008 (1)3.8 
			 (1) Figures for March 2008, are internal Agency figures and are subject to review following National Audit Office scrutiny on the agency accounts for 2007-08.  Notes: 1. Figures rounded to nearest £0.1 billion. 2. Latest available data is March 2007. 
		
	
	
		
			  Table 2: Gross child maintenance debt (debt analysis exercise) 
			   April to March each year (£ billion) 
			   2004-05  2005-06  2006-07 
			 Total gross debt outstanding at year end 3.3 3.5 3.7 
			  O f which :
			 Possibly uncollectable n/a 0.2 0.1 
			 Probably uncollectable 2.0 1.9 2.1 
			 Collectable 1.3 1.4 1.5 
			  Notes: 1. Figures are rounded to the nearest £0.1 billion. 2. "Possibly Uncollectable" debt refers to amounts outstanding which the debt analysis exercise revealed some uncertainty over whether it will be collected. The amounts are considered doubtful where, for example, payments have been infrequent or it has not been possible to establish an arrears agreement or impose a deduction of earning order. 3. "Probably Uncollectable" debt refers to the amount outstanding which the debt analysis exercise revealed is likely to be very difficult to collect due, for example, to the lack of contact with, or the personal circumstance of, the non-resident parent. In many of these cases the Agency has suspended recovery action until such time as the individual's circumstances change. 4. "Collectable" debt refers to the amount outstanding which the debt analysis exercise revealed is likely to be collected. This takes into account factors such as regular contact with the non-resident parent, where regular payments are being made or an arrears agreement has been set up. 5. From 2005-06 a provision has been included in the annual accounts to reflect the fact that the Agency may not collect an element of the possibly uncollectable debt, the accounts for 2004-05 have been restated on this basis, please refer to 2005-06 annual report and accounts. Therefore the possibly uncollectable figures for 2004-05 and 2005-06 are based upon the provision in the accounts only, leading to an increase in collectable debt in these years. 6. Figures for the period April 2007 to March 2008 will be published in the Agency's 2008 annual report and accounts.

Council Tax Benefit

Eric Pickles: To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions how many people received council tax benefit in each Government office region in each year since 1996-97; and what the cost of the benefit was in each year.

James Plaskitt: The available information is in the following tables.
	
		
			  Council tax benefit recipients nationally and by Government office region, as at February each year 
			   Great Britain  North East  North West  Yorkshire and the Humber  East Midlands  West Midlands 
			 1999 5,201,480 318,670 537,460 698,910 336,960 510,540 
			 2000 4,878,290 304,270 700,080 447,530 318,330 484,110 
			 2001 4,662,540 298,090 660,060 426,820 306,790 463,120 
			 2002 4,589,800 291,320 646,330 421,440 292,460 461,460 
			 2003 4,594,510 290,370 642,820 422,440 293,210 460,080 
			 2004 4,684,000 289,400 646,610 429,360 303,180 462,070 
			 2005 4,926,320 294,520 671,620 446,320 320,690 482,830 
			 2006 5,015,060 293,630 682,970 455,290 329,980 487,490 
			 2007 5,096,570 295,620 686,640 461,040 338,270 506,650 
		
	
	
		
			   East  London  South East  South West  Wales  Scotland 
			 1999 377,140 701,280 483,810 363,240 276,340 597,130 
			 2000 355,740 635,440 454,810 342,240 267,640 568,090 
			 2001 338,450 610,080 433,700 324,240 263,780 537,410 
			 2002 334,160 610,410 421,590 319,600 260,750 530,290 
			 2003 336,580 625,430 422,860 317,880 256,400 526,450 
			 2004 347,360 646,720 443,020 326,800 261,240 528,240 
			 2005 367,320 704,370 475,080 346,530 272,020 545,030 
			 2006 380,040 719,920 491,230 361,290 278,520 534,720 
			 2007 390,900 728,470 504,020 368,810 282,240 533,920 
			  Notes: 1. The data refer to benefit units, which may be a single person or a couple. 2. The figures have been rounded to the nearest 10. 3. Figures for any non-responding authorities have been estimated. 4. Council tax benefit totals exclude any second adult rebate cases.  Source: Housing Benefit and Council Tax Benefit Management Information System Quarterly 100 per cent. caseload stock-count taken in February 1999 to February 2007. 
		
	
	
		
			  Council tax benefit expenditure in Great Britain 
			  £ million 
			   Cash terms  Real terms (2008-09 prices) 
			 1996-97 2,311 3,147 
			 1997-98 2,395 3,169 
			 1998-99 2,452 3,165 
			 1999-2000 2,511 3,177 
			 2000-01 2,575 3,211 
			 2001-02 2,686 3,272 
			 2002-03 2,834 3,347 
			 2003-04 3,223 3,700 
			 2004-05 3,557 3,973 
			 2005-06 3,774 4,129 
			 2006-07 (estimated) 3,944 4,195 
			  Notes: 1. Figures to 2005-06 are audited out-turn from local authority subsidy claims. 2. Figures for 2006-07 are provisional. 3. Real terms figures are in 2008-09 prices, based on the Budget 2008 GDP deflator.  Source: DWP Budget 2008 expenditure tables

Departmental Manpower

Daniel Rogerson: To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions how many  (a) permanent civil service posts,  (b) permanent non-civil service posts and  (c) temporary or agency workers there were in his Department in each month since May 2005.

Anne McGuire: Details of permanent civil service posts, temporary and agency workers employed by the Department for Work and Pensions for each month since May 2005 are shown in the following table.
	
		
			   Permanent  Temporary( 1)  Agency staff( 2)  Total 
			  2005 
			 May 126,979 4,002 — 130,981 
			 June 126,380 4,243 — 130,623 
			 July 125,776 4,833 — 130,609 
			 August 125,343 4,899 — 130,242 
			 September 124,901 4,833 — 129,734 
			 October 124,579 5,093 — 129,672 
			 November 124,314 5,254 — 129,568 
			 December 123,998 5,372 — 129,370 
			  
			  2006 
			 January 123,930 5,341 — 129,271 
			 February 122,873 4,991 — 127,864 
			 March 123,713 3,434 — 127,147 
			 April 122,699 3,258 — 125,957 
			 May 122,314 3,180 — 125,494 
			 June 122,179 3,533 — 125,712 
			 July 122,052 4,263 — 126,315 
			 August 121,573 4,408 — 125,981 
			 September 121,502 3,692 — 125,194 
			 October 121,286 3,507 — 124,793 
			 November 121,075 3,441 — 124,516 
			 December 120,617 3,502 — 124,119 
			  
			  2007 
			 January 120,257 3,562 — 123,819 
			 February 119,624 3,443 — 123,067 
			 March 118,217 2,270 — 120,487 
			 April 119,126 946 — 120,072 
			 May 118,516 955 — 119,471 
			 June 117,948 961 — 118,909 
			 July 117,180 1,669 — 118,849 
			 August 116,113 1,741 — 117,854 
			 September 115,447 1,807 300 117,554 
			 October 115,066 1,739 255 117,060 
			 November 115,014 1,750 284 117,048 
			 December 114,543 1,790 269 116,602 
			  
			  2008 
			 January 113,951 1,916 312 116,179 
			 February 113,477 1,878 444 115,799 
			 March 112,628 1,344 433 114,405 
			 (1) Based on the Office of National Statistics (ONS) definition, from 1 April 2007 members of staff with a fixed term contract in excess of 12 months are counted as permanent. (2) Data only available from September 2007.

Departmental Public Participation

Stewart Hosie: To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions how much his Department spent on  (a) written consultations,  (b) consultation roadshows and  (c) stakeholder focus groups in each of the last three years.

James Plaskitt: Consultation forms an integral part of policy-making in my Department and we consult on both an informal and formal basis. However there is no central budget for consultation exercises and activity is funded by each individual policy area or agency operation. I can therefore provide an answer to this question only at disproportionate cost to public funds.

Departmental Publications

Stephen Byers: To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions when he expects to publish the latest Households Below Average Income statistics; what the reasons are for the time taken to publish them; and if he will make a statement.

Stephen Timms: The Households Below Average Income publication will be published in June 2008. The exact date of release will be announced on the National Statistics website at least a fortnight before publication in line with the National Statistics code of practice. Full details of the reasons for the delay in release were given in my right hon. Friend the Secretary of State's written statement on 22 April 2008,  Official Report, column 102WS.

Departmental Standards

Justine Greening: To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions what projects sponsored by his Department were subject to Gateway reviews in each of the last four years; what status each project was assigned under such reviews; how much his Department spent on Gateway reviews in each such year; and if he will make a statement.

Anne McGuire: Gateway reports, including the findings and status, are conducted on a confidential basis for Senior Responsible Owners (SRO) and are not therefore, made available.
	The information in the table provides a list of the Gateway reviews undertaken on the Department's projects over the last four years:
	
		
			   Name of review 
			 2004-05 HR IS/IT Modernisation 
			  Euro Programme 
			  Health and Safety Executive (HSE)—Corporate Information Project 
			  Review of Office Services 
			  Customer Management System 
			  Civil Partnerships Registration 
			  Pensions Organisation Project 
			  Inherited State Earnings-related Pensions System 
			  State Pension Deferrals 
			  Resource Management System 
			  Debt Management Programme 
			  Universal Banking Programme 
			  Electronic Registered Files 
			  Incapacity Benefit Reforms—Extension to Existing Customers 
			  HR IS/IT Modernisation 
			  (HR) Service Delivery Model 
			  Staff Information System 
			  The Pensions Regulator Programme 
			  Medical Provision Procurement Project 
			  Records Storage Project 
			  HOUSE—Electronic Document Records Management (EDRM) 
			  Jobcentre Plus Implementation 
			  Benefit Processing Re-engineering Programme/Watch 3 
			   
			 2005-06 Pensions Transformation Programme (PTP) 
			  DWP IT Transformation Programme 
			  Payment Modernisation Programme 
			  HSE—HR Service Transformation (HRST) 
			  Corporate Integration Backbone 
			  Staff Information System—Phase 2 
			  IT Information Flows in Local Authorities 
			  Centralisation of Benefit Processing 
			  New Deal for Disabled People Successor 
			  Employee Services 
			  Child Support Reforms Business Transformation 
			  HSE—Corporate Information Project 
			  Disability and Carers Service (DCS) Change Programme 
			  Provider-Led Pathways To Work 
			  Electronic Registered Files 
			  Employee Services 
			  The Pensions Regulator Programme 
			  HSE—HRST 
			  HSE—EDRM 
			  BPRP/Watch 2 
			  Universal Banking 
			  Central Payment System 
			  HSE—FIT3 Programme 
			  Employee Services 
			  Debt Management Programme 
			  Multi-Functional Server Replacement 
			  DWP Vehicle Procurement Project 
			  Jobcentre Plus Implementation 
			  Centralisation of Benefits Processing 
			   
			 2006-07 DCS Change Programme 
			  DWP IT Transformation Programme 
			  Review of Office Services 
			  HSE—HRST 
			  Pensions Transformation Programme 
			  The Pensions Regulator Programme 
			  Review of Office Services 
			  HSE—EDRM 
			  ID Cards 
			  HR IS/IT Modernisation Programme 
			  Review of Head Office Estate 
			  HSE—HRST 
			  Employment Support Allowance 
			  Document Repository Service 
			  Provider-Led Pathways To Work 
			  Resource Management System 
			  CSA Operational Improvement Plan 
			  Review of Office Services 
			  Contracted Employment Projects (CEPP) 
			  Central Payments System 
			   
			 2007-08 Review of Head Office Estate 
			  Child Maintenance Re-design 
			  Centralisation of Benefit Processing 
			  HSE—FITS Programme 
			  Enabling Savings Programme 
			  Employment Support Allowance 
			  Document Repository Service 
			  Provider-Led Pathways to Work 
			  DWP Change Programme 
			  Customer Information System r4 
			  Method of Payment Reform Programme 
			  Child Maintenance Redesign 
			  Provider-Led Pathways to Work 
			  Pensions Transformation Programme 
			  HSE—How and Where We Work 
			  DCS Change Programme 
			  Employment Support Allowance 
			  The Pensions Regulator 
			  HSE—Universal Work Recording 
			  Provider-Led Pathways to Work 
			  HR IS/IT Modernisation Programme 
			  Pensions Reform Delivery Programme 
			  Flexible New Deal 
			   
			 2008-09 Enhanced Transmission Service Enhancements 
		
	
	A key principle of Gateway is that they are cost neutral. However, where there is a shortfall in civil service Gateway reviewers, suitably accredited external resource may be used. While the Department is unable to identify the individual costs for each review undertaken, as this information is not specifically recorded, we have spent the following on Gateway reviews.
	
		
			   Spend on Gateway( TM ) Reviews (£) 
			 2004-05 192,802.16 
			 2005-06 119,102.58 
			 2006-07 227,198.57 
			 2007-08 130,850.28 
		
	
	The Secretary of State is fully supportive of the Gateway Review Process, which is applied to all major programmes and projects within the Department. The Process is firmly embedded into the Department's governance regime and Gateway reviews are used as an integral part of the overall Assurance provision within the Department. Feedback from Senior Responsible Owners (for whom the reports are written) and project teams is that overwhelmingly they are extremely useful in helping the projects deliver their intended outcomes.

Departmental Translation Services

Sandra Gidley: To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions how much was spent by his Department on translation and interpretation services in 2007-08, broken down by language.

Anne McGuire: In 2007-08 the Department for Work and Pensions spent £1.6 million on telephone interpreting services and £1.8 million on face to face interpreting services.
	The Department's contracted spend on translation services in 2007-08 was £40,698, of which £31,535 was translating English into Welsh. No other information is held centrally to provide any further breakdown by language and could be provided only at disproportionate cost.

Electronic Government

Michael Weir: To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions whether mechanisms are in place to monitor the extent to which his Department's  (a) internal and  (b) external (i) correspondence and (ii) distribution of publications is carried out electronically.

Anne McGuire: DWP does not have mechanisms in place to monitor the extent to which the Department's internal and external correspondence and publications are distributed electronically.
	However it is the Department's policy to use electronic formats as the principal route for the distribution of internal communications and a range of electronic methods are in place to deliver external correspondence.

Fraud

Danny Alexander: To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions pursuant to the answer of 28 April 2008,  Official Report, column 42W, on fraud, how many staff in his Department were  (a) dismissed and  (b) prosecuted for fraud offences in each year since 2003.

Anne McGuire: The information is not available in the format requested. To extract this information from individual records for the period requested would be at a disproportionate cost.
	The Department introduced a new personnel computer system incrementally from November 2006, being fully implemented by April 2007. The system did not categorise the reason for dismissal, for example fraud. The system was enhanced from 28 January 2008 to capture categories of dismissals.
	Information on numbers prosecuted is not available. However the numbers of staff convicted for fraud since January 2004 are available and shown in the following table.
	
		
			   Number of staff convicted 
			 January to March 2004 4 
			 April 2004 to March 2005 11 
			 April 2005 to March 2006 10 
			 April 2006 to March 2007 14 
			 April 2007 to December 2007 14

Hazardous Substances

Gordon Prentice: To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions what restrictions on the retail sale of  (a) sulphuric acid and  (b) other highly corrosive substances there are; and if he will make a statement.

Vernon Coaker: I have been asked to reply.
	The Home Office controls the sale of sulphuric acid, together with other corrosive acids (formic, hydrochloric, hydrofluoric, nitric and phosphoric) under the Poisons Act 1972, included in Part II of the Poisons List. The purpose of the legislation is to allow the sale of commonly-used poisons whilst protecting the individual from their inherent dangers. The sale of Part II poisons are restricted to retail pharmacies and to businesses whose premises have been entered on to local authorities' lists as sellers of poisons (usually hardware stores, garden centres and the like).
	The manufacture and sale of certain chemicals, that can be used in the production of illicit drugs, is controlled under EU legislation (Council Regulations (EC) Nos. 273/2004 and 111/2005) and effected through drug precursors regulations administered by the Home Office. Two of the chemicals under such control are sulphuric and hydrochloric acid, both commonly used as solvents in illicit production. Any company manufacturing or trading in either, and in quantities over 100kg a year, must be registered with the Home Office and exports to certain sensitive countries must be authorised.
	Additionally, when hazardous chemicals, including sulphuric acid and other corrosive substances are sold, the Chemicals (Hazard Information and Packaging for Supply) Regulations 2002 places a requirement on suppliers to package such chemicals safely and label properly so that information is provided on the risks associated with these chemicals.

Income Support: Lone Parents

Tom Clarke: To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions 
	(1)  if he will exempt lone parents providing full-time home education for their children from the planned requirement that lone parents be actively seeking work to receive income support;
	(2)  what support will be available for lone parents providing full-time home education to their children when the requirement for such parents to be actively seeking work to receive income support comes into effect; and if he will make a statement.

Stephen Timms: Details of the Government's proposed changes to benefit conditionally for lone parents, together with a set of draft regulations, were presented to the Social Security Advisory Committee (SSAC) on 7 May 2008. The Committee will shortly commence a public consultation exercise seeking views on the proposals from interested organisations before formally responding to the Secretary of State. After considering the SSAC report, the Government will respond on the arrangements for lone parents, including those who educate their children at home.
	In the documentation provided to SSAC, the Government outlined their proposals on lone parents who educate their children at home. While recognising that lone parents can choose to do so, it is not the purpose of income support to fund them to educate their children at home. Therefore, the Government consider that they should be required to look for paid work when their youngest child reaches the relevant threshold age.
	Lone parents who educate their children at home and who apply for jobseeker's allowance will need to fit in their home education activities around their obligations to look for work. Unlike lone parents who send their children to school, lone parents who choose to educate their children at home do not have to observe school hours, days or terms and may have greater flexibility to fit paid work around their children's education.
	They may, however, need to find alternative care for their children when they undertake work related activities or take up a job. The draft regulations presented to SSAC also include an amendment to allow Jobcentre Plus advisers additional discretion so that a lone parent claiming or receiving jobseeker's allowance will not be penalised if they cannot access appropriate and affordable child care.

Pension Service: Standards

Si�n James: To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions what recent assessment he has made of customer service performance at the Swansea Pension Service Centre; and if he will make a statement.

Mike O'Brien: The information is in the following table:
	
		
			  The year to date customer service performance at Swansea Pension Centre at March 2008 
			   Swansea Pension Centre YTD performance at March 2008  Pension service targets 
			 State Pension applications processed in 60 days 96 per cent. 95 per cent. 
			 State Pension changes processed in 15 days 94 per cent. 95 per cent. 
			
			 Pension Credit applications average actual clearance time 15 days 15 days 
			 Pension Credit changes average actual clearance time 3.5 days 4 days 
			  Note: These are the performance levels against the agreed Pension Service targets.  Source: Respond system.

Pension Service: Swansea

Si�n James: To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions what information his Department holds on  (a) sickness,  (b) overtime and  (c) other staff absence at the Swansea Pension Service Centre in the most recent period for which figures are available; and if he will make a statement.

Mike O'Brien: The information requested is in the following tables.
	
		
			  Days lost to sickness at Swansea Pension Centre from 2005 
			   Average working days lost per employee  Actual number of working days lost 
			 2005 6.7 3,545 
			 2006 11.4 4,260 
			 2007 12.5 4,875 
			 2008 13.1 7,440 
			  Notes: 1. All years are from 1 January to 31 December except 2008 which is the information from 1 January to 31 March. 2. The Average Working Days Lost target is calculated as follows: Working Days lost divided by working days available x 225. 3. As of 2007-08 DWP has adopted the ONS definition and the reported figure excludes unpaid employees.  Source: BI Portal information. 
		
	
	
		
			  T otal cost of overtime at Swansea Pension Centre since 2005 
			   Cost ()  Percentage of total salary costs 
			 2005-06 157,000 1.34 
			 2006-07 371,000 2.94 
			 2007-08 511,000 4.19 
			  Notes: 1. All years are from 1 April to 31 March. 2. Costs figures are rounded to the nearest thousand pounds. Current information on other staff absence at Swansea Pension Centre on 24 April 2008.   Source: Information supplied by Resource Support Team in Swansea. 
		
	
	
		
			  Current information on other staff absence at Swansea Pension Centre on  24 April 2008 
			   Percentage 
			 Attendance 16 
			 Authorised absence 17 
			 Unauthorised absence 67 
			  Notes: 1. This is the staffing information on 24 April (Industrial Action Day). 2. Authorised Leave includes Annual Leave, Carers Leave, Maternity Leave.  Source: Swansea Pension Centre return to Business Continuity.

HOME DEPARTMENT

Asylum

Justine Greening: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department how many principal applicant cases were allocated to case resolution teams (CRT) in her Department, broken down by  (a) CRT (S),  (b) CRT (M) and  (c) CRT (L) in the years (i) 2003-04, (ii) 2004-05, (iii) 2005-06, (iv) 2006-07 and (v) 2007-08.

Liam Byrne: The work to clear the backlog of asylum cases was announced in July 2006. Work started on selected cases in November 2006 and the Case Resolution Directorate was created on 1 April 2007, tasked with managing the work. Around 5,500 principal applicant cases were allocated to each case owning team in December 2007.
	The chief executive of the UK Border Agency provided an update on progress on clearing the backlog of older cases to the Home Affairs Select Committee on 17 December 2007 and has given an undertaking to update Parliament every six months on further progress.

Asylum

Justine Greening: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department what percentage of principal applicant cases allocated to case resolution teams (CRT) in her Department were  (a) resolved within the year and  (b) carried over to the following year, broken down by (i) CRT (S), (ii) CRT (M) and (iii) CRT (L) in the years (A) 2003-04, (B) 2004-05, (C) 2005-06, (D) 2006-07 and (E) 2007-08.

Liam Byrne: The work to clear the backlog of asylum cases was announced in July 2006.
	The chief executive of the UK Border Agency provided an update on progress on clearing the backlog of older cases to the Home Affairs Select Committee on 17 December 2007 and has given an undertaking to update Parliament every six months on further progress.

Asylum

Justine Greening: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department how many principal applicant cases resolved in  (a) 2003-04,  (b) 2004-05,  (c) 2005-06,  (d) 2006-07 and  (e) 2007-08 were given (i) exceptional leave to remain and (ii) indefinite leave to remain, broken down by (A) case resolution team (S), (B) case resolution team (M) and (C) case resolution team (L).

Liam Byrne: The work to clear the backlog of older asylum cases was announced in July 2006.
	To provide the information requested would incur disproportionate cost as we do not routinely collect this information.
	The chief executive of the UK Border Agency provided an update on progress to the Home Affairs Select Committee on 17 December 2007 and has given an undertaking to update Parliament every six months on further progress.

Asylum

Hugh Robertson: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department if she will make a statement on the progress of the asylum claim of Faith Dziruni of Downswood, Maidstone, Kent.

Liam Byrne: holding answer 12 May 2008
	 I provided details on this case in my letter to the hon. Member on 21 June 2007.

Asylum

John Spellar: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department what progress has been made in introducing new protocols for judicial review in failed asylum cases.

Liam Byrne: In March 2007 we introduced a change to judicial review policy in agreement with the courts. This change meant that claimants have 72 hours to lodge a JR where removal directions are set but we are no longer required to defer removals simply on the threat of judicial review; claimants must also lodge full grounds of challenge. As part of this we have also agreed an expedited process for 25 cases per week that are considered abusive or without merit.
	We continue to look for ways to improve processes and will present fresh proposals for reform shortly.

Children: Protection

Helen Southworth: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department how many reports of suspected child exploitation were received by the Child Exploitation and Online Protection Centre (CEOP) from Bebo in the last 12 months; and what length of time elapsed between the report being made to Bebo and its receipt by CEOP in each case.

Vernon Coaker: In the last financial year 290 reports have been received from Bebo by CEOP in this way, out of an overall total of 6,002. For the purposes of answering this question, CEOP dip-sampled, at random, a total of 12 reports for the last year (one for each month). The time delay on receiving reports from when they reached the Bebo SPOC (single point of contact) to being sent to CEOP varied from three days and 14 hours to seven hours with the average working out to one day and 23 hours.
	CEOP do not hold any information on the original date that the matter was reported to Bebo, and so cannot comment on any possible time lapse in that part of the process.

Community Policing

Mark Hoban: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department which newspapers carried her Department's advertisements relating to neighbourhood policing teams on 31 March 2008; and what the cost to her Department of such advertisements was.

Liam Byrne: The advertisements that ran on 31 March 2008 informing the public how to contact their neighbourhood policing teams were placed in 10 newspapers:  Times,  Telegraph,  Mail,  Express,  Independent,  Guardian,  Mirror,  Sun,  Star and the  Western Mail. The media cost of this advertising was 148,117.00.

Crime: North West

Mark Hunter: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department how many incidents of  (a) domestic burglary,  (b) vehicle-related thefts,  (c) crimes of violence against a person,  (d) crimes involving a gun, knife or sharp instrument,  (e) vandalism,  (f) rape and  (g) homicide were recorded in each parliamentary constituency in the North West in each year since 1997.

Vernon Coaker: holding answer 15 May 2008
	Recorded crime statistics are not collected specifically on a constituency basis. The Home Office does publish statistics at crime and disorder reduction partnership (CDRP) area level.
	Although CDRP data is available for selected offences from 1999-2000, the introduction of the National Crime Recording Standard in April 2002 means figures before and after that are not directly comparable. To enable direct comparisons to be made, statistics from 2002-03 onwards are provided in the tables placed in the House Library for the following offences: domestic burglary, theft of and from a vehicle, violence against the person, criminal damage, rape and homicide. Statistics are not available for crimes involving guns, knives or sharp instruments at CDRP level.
	A look-up table is available that identifies which constituencies are associated with CDRPs. In many instances, a CDRP may comprise of more than one constituency. Conversely, some constituencies will come within two or more CDRPs, either wholly or partially. The look-up table is available at:
	http://www.homeoffice.gov.uk/rds/pdfs08/cdrp-constituency-table.xls

Departmental Artworks

David Ruffley: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department what pieces of artwork valued at over 1,000 were  (a) purchased by her Department and  (b) transferred to her Department's ownership in each of the last three years; and what the (i) name and (ii) value is of each.

Liam Byrne: My Department does not have an annual budget for art. However following the opening of 2 Marsham Street in 2005 122,000 was spent on the provision of internal art for the new building. This demonstrated the Department's support for UK arts. The developer had direct responsibility for the costs of the external art strategy, the cost of which is included in the combined PFI charge for the building.

Departmental Freedom of Information

David Ruffley: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department what percentage of Freedom of Information requests received by her Department has given rise to responses that have been published by her Department in each year since 2000.

Liam Byrne: Since the right of access provided by the Freedom of Information Act came into force on 1 January 2005 the Home Office has received 8,167 requests (to April 2008). As of 21 April 2008 1,019 (12.5 per cent.) of the responses to these have appeared on the Department's disclosure log. This figure includes requests received by the National Offender Management Service and Office for Criminal Justice Reform until 9 May 2007 when they ceased to be part of the Home Office upon the creation of the Ministry of Justice. Since the autumn of 2005 the Home Office disclosure log has been maintained on the basis of there being a presumption in favour of publication where information is released. Unfortunately it is not possible to provide an annual breakdown for the publication of FOI responses within the cost limit for PQs.

Departmental Freedom of Information

David Davies: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department how many freedom of information requests made to her Department were  (a) answered (i) within 20 days, (ii) within 40 days, (iii) within 60 days, (iv) after 60 days,  (b) not answered and  (c) answered citing an exemption in the Freedom of Information Act 2000 as a reason not to provide the requested information in each year since the Act came into force.

Liam Byrne: The Ministry of Justice has published two annual reports containing statistical information on freedom of information requests received by monitored bodies (including central Government Departments) in 2005 and 2006. These reports can be found at the following address:
	http://www.dca.gov.uk/foi/reference/statisticsAndReports.htm
	The 2007 annual report is currently being drafted for publication in June 2008. However, statistics on requests received in each quarter of 2007 have been published and can be found via the MOJ website:
	http://www.justice.gov.uk/publications/freedomofinformationquarterly.htm
	The Freedom of Information Act 2000 requires public bodies to respond to written requests within 20 working days of receipt, but allows additional time for the consideration of the public interest in disclosing the requested information.
	The published reports provide statistics on the number of non-routine requests received during each period where: an initial response was provided within 20 working days; an initial response was given outside this time but a public interest test extension had been applied; an initial response was given outside this time and no public interest test extension was applied, and where no initial response had been given at the time the statistics were collected.
	The 2006 annual report provides statistics on the duration of the public interest test extensions in that year. Corresponding statistics for 2007 will be available when the 2007 annual report is published.
	Information requests where deadlines were extended beyond 40 days is not collected in the form requested; however the proportion of resolvable requests the Department answered in time (i.e. meeting the deadline or with a permitted extension) in 2007 was 87 per cent.
	For 2005 and 2006, the reports show the number of requests received by the Department which were withheld, either in full or in part, where an FOI exemption or EIR exception was applied. For 2007, the number of such requests was 333, based on aggregated quarterly statistics from 2007. Requests withheld solely under the exemption applicable to information available by other means are not included; statistics on these are not collected centrally because they are dealt with as routine business.

Departmental Manpower

Daniel Rogerson: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department how many  (a) permanent Civil Service posts,  (b) permanent non-Civil Service posts and  (c) temporary or agency workers in employment in her Department there were in each month since May 2005.

Liam Byrne: The tables show the number of full-time equivalent (FTE) permanent civil servants, temporary and agency workers in employment in each month since May 2005.
	The Home Office and agencies do not recognise the term 'permanent non-Civil Service posts' as all permanent posts are civil service posts.
	The Home Office Headquarters and UKBA have been unable to provide 2005 monthly information due to the migration of staff data to a new database at the time. IPS temporary and agency staff numbers prior to July 2006 are unavailable because the central database did not record it at that time. To gather the information would incur a disproportionate cost.
	
		
			  Table 1:  Breakdown of permanent and temporary or agency workers for Home Office HQ, UK Borders Agency, Criminal Records Bureau and Identity and Passport Service 
			   Home Office HQ  UKBA 
			   Permanent  Temporary or agency workers  Total  Permanent  Temporary or agency workers  Total 
			  2005   
			 May n/a n/a n/a n/a n/a n/a 
			 June n/a n/a n/a n/a n/a n/a 
			 July n/a n/a n/a n/a n/a n/a 
			 August n/a n/a n/a n/a n/a n/a 
			 September n/a n/a n/a n/a n/a n/a 
			 October n/a n/a n/a n/a n/a n/a 
			 November n/a n/a n/a n/a n/a n/a 
			 December n/a n/a n/a n/a n/a n/a 
			
			  2006   
			 January 4,319 525 4,844 n/a n/a n/a 
			 February 4,454 538 4,992 n/a n/a n/a 
			 March 4,705 558 5,263 n/a n/a n/a 
			 April 4,719 540 5,259 n/a n/a n/a 
			 May 4,629 550 5,179 n/a n/a n/a 
			 June 4,603 874 5,477 n/a n/a n/a 
			 July 4,771 591 5,362 15,635 1,979 17,614 
			 August 4,624 572 5,196 15,646 1,899 17,545 
			 September 4,631 552 5,183 15,793 1,870 17,663 
			 October 4,697 563 5,260 16,035 1,955 17,990 
			 November 4,649 569 5,218 16,238 1,973 18,211 
			 December 4,617 574 5,191 16,369 1,961 18,330 
			
			  2007   
			 January 4,677 557 5,234 16,538 1,955 18,493 
			 February 4,683 573 5,256 16,714 1,962 18,676 
			 March 4,681 578 5,259 16,926 1,912 18,838 
			 April 4,593 587 5,180 17,116 1,781 18,897 
			 May 2,875 414 3,289 17,373 1,289 18,662 
			 June 2,864 429 3,293 17,424 1,242 18,666 
			 July 2,829 426 3,255 17,558 1,246 18,804 
			 August 2,815 422 3,237 17,596 1,251 18,847 
			 September 2,937 551 3,488 17,606 1,191 18,797 
			 October 2,923 486 3,409 17,581 1,107 18,688 
			 November 2,846 551 3,397 17,550 991 18,541 
			 December 2,833 555 3,388 17,512 950 18,462 
			
			  2008   
			 January 2,830 542 3,372 17,439 912 18,351 
			 February 2,825 526 3,351 17,372 886 18,258 
			 March 2,809 477 3,286 17,395 759 18,154 
		
	
	
		
			   CRB  IPS 
			   Permanent  Temporary or agency workers  Total  Permanent  Temporary or agency workers headcount( 1)  Total 
			  2005   
			 May 415 15 430 2,871 n/a 2,871 
			 June 410 13 423 2,936 n/a 2,936 
			 July 405 13 418 2,917 n/a 2,917 
			 August 412 8 420 2,944 n/a 2,944 
			 September 399 12 411 2,931 n/a 2,931 
			 October 398 10 408 2,916 n/a 2,916 
			 November 393 9 402 2,974 n/a 2,974 
			 December 388 8 396 3,092 n/a 3,092 
			
			  2006   
			 January 384 4 388 3,076 n/a 3,076 
			 February 379 4 383 3,136 n/a 3,136 
			 March 373 4 377 3,165 n/a 3,165 
			 April 370 0 370 3,228 n/a 3,228 
			 May 366 4 370 3,226 n/a 3,226 
			 June 366 1 367 3,325 n/a 3,325 
			 July 366 1 367 3,182 247 3,429 
			 August 377 1 378 3,247 253 3,500 
			 September 377 0 377 3,318 243 3,561 
			 October 379 0 379 3,252 233 3,485 
			 November 384 2 386 3,245 238 3,483 
			 December 378 3 381 3,062 244 3,306 
			
			  2007   
			 January 371 6 377 3,308 245 3,553 
			 February 380 5 385 3,273 274 3,547 
			 March 378 8 386 3,286 280 3,566 
			 April 375 7 382 3,252 286 3,538 
			 May 376 7 383 3,282 276 3,558 
			 June 389 5 394 3,372 275 3,647 
			 July 403 5 408 3,418 279 3,697 
			 August 413 5 418 3,423 279 3,702 
			 September 416 5 421 3,402 245 3,647 
			 October 416 4 420 3,250 281 3,531 
			 November 430 2 432 3,278 236 3,514 
			 December 431 2 433 3,288 232 3,520 
			
			  2008   
			 January 450 3 453 3,528 211 3,739 
			 February 454 3 457 3,532 193 3,725 
			 March 453 6 459 3,530 166 3,696 
			 (1) Headcount for IPS includes all interims and office temps but excludes casual staff and consultants.

Foreign Workers: Domestic Service

Andrew Smith: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department 
	(1)  what assessment she has made of the likely impact on the human rights of migrant domestic workers of ending the domestic migrant worker visa;
	(2)  what representations she has received on the future of the domestic migrant worker visa;
	(3)  when she plans to make an announcement on the future of the domestic migrant worker visa;
	(4)  what assessment her Department has made of the protection afforded to workers covered by the terms of the domestic migrant worker visa.

Liam Byrne: We fully understandand have received representations from several organisations and private individuals onthe protections which are valued in the current route for overseas domestic workers in private households. We said in our consultation paper on visitors, published last December, that we are committed to the protection of those who are exploited when they are in the UK. We are currently conducting research and analysis in respect of the current provisions for overseas domestic workers. In light of the research findings we will consider, with interested parties, how best to achieve protection for any person who is found to be a victim of trafficking, irrespective of how they entered the UK.

Members: Correspondence

David Wilshire: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department when she will reply to the letter of 11 March 2008 to the Minister of State on the planning application to convert 203-211 London Road, Staines into an administration and interview centre for the UK Border Agency.

Liam Byrne: holding answer 13 May 2008
	 I wrote to the hon. Member on 9 May 2008.

Official Residences

Eric Pickles: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department pursuant to the answer of 17 March 2008,  Official Report, column 806W, on official residences, if she will place in the Library a copy of the Savills report, redacting the commercially confidential elements.

Liam Byrne: I will be happy to consider doing so when the report is received and has been considered by my officials.

Official Residences

Eric Pickles: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department pursuant to the answer of 17 March 2008,  Official Report, column 807W, on official residences, what the valuation of the Government House in Pimlico at its previous valuation was prior to the most recent valuation; and on what date that previous valuation was made.

Liam Byrne: The previous valuation was carried out in 2001 and valued the property at 1.8 million.

Political Impartiality

Mark Hoban: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department what guidance was given to  (a) Ministers,  (b) special advisers and  (c) civil servants in her Department on public communications during the local election purdah period.

Liam Byrne: Guidance was published on the Cabinet Office website as it is when a local or general election takes place. The Cabinet Secretary also wrote to Departments to remind them of the guidance.

Religious Hatred

James Clappison: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department how many  (a) religiously aggravated offences and  (b) offences of religious harassment were recorded in each year since the introduction of such offences, broken down by the religion of the victim; and how many resulted in a (i) charge and (ii) conviction.

Vernon Coaker: The information requested is not collected centrally. The Home Office collects statistics on recorded racially or religiously aggravated offences for some specific categories of offence. However, it is not possible to determine  (a) whether an offence was of a racial or religious nature or  (b) the religion of the victim. Similarly, the religion of the victim cannot be identified from the courts proceedings data collected by the Office for Criminal Justice Reform.

Smoking

Mark Hoban: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department how many smoking shelters were built at each of her Department's London buildings in each of the last five years.

Liam Byrne: My Department has no central records of building any smoking shelters at our London buildings in the last five years.

Wouter Basson

Andrew MacKinlay: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department what the residency status of Wouter Basson was during the period in which he lived in Berkshire.

Liam Byrne: holding answer 12 May 2008
	 It is not Home Office policy to comment on individual cases.

CHILDREN, SCHOOLS AND FAMILIES

Children

David Laws: To ask the Secretary of State for Children, Schools and Families what proportion of children in families in each income decile lived in  (a) two-parent married households and  (b) two-adult families in (i) Liverpool, (ii) Manchester, (iii) Islington, (iv) Lambeth and (v) Southwark in the latest period for which figures are available; and if he will make a statement.

Stephen Timms: I have been asked to reply.
	The information requested is not available below the level of Government office region.

Children in Care: Religion

Graham Brady: To ask the Secretary of State for Children, Schools and Families how many and what proportion of looked-after children had a known religious affiliation, broken down by affiliation, in the latest period for which figures are available.

Kevin Brennan: Information on the number and proportion of looked-after children who had a known religious affiliation, broken down by affiliation is not collected centrally.
	Although data is not collected nationally, section 22(5) of the 1989 Children Act places a general duty on local authorities to give due consideration, when making decisions with respect to a child whom they look after, to that child's religious persuasion (among other matters).

Children: Day Care

Nicholas Winterton: To ask the Secretary of State for Children, Schools and Families 
	(1)  by how much Ofsted's inspection fees for child care establishments will increase by 2010;
	(2)  what assessment he has made of the effect on playgroups and child care establishments of the increase in Ofsted's inspection fees in 2010; and if he will make a statement;
	(3)  if he will assess the merits of Ofsted's decision to increase inspection fees for child care establishments in 2010;
	(4)  what discussions he has had with child care establishment representative organisations on Ofsted's increase in inspection fees for playgroups in 2010;
	(5)  what representations he has received on the increase in Ofsted's inspection fees for child care establishments and playgroups in 2010;
	(6)  what the reasons are for the increase in Ofsted's inspection fees for child care establishments and playgroups in 2010; and if he will make a statement.

Beverley Hughes: The proposals for the levels of fees for the Early Years Register and the compulsory part of the Ofsted Childcare Register from September 2008 were set out in the consultationChildcare Act 2006: Future Approach to Fees and Subsidies and the accompanying impact assessment. The consultation exercise ended on 20 February and we received 3,639 written responses. The Government response to the consultation will be published shortly alongside decisions on fee levels for 2008 and the approach to fee setting in the longer term.
	As we made clear in the consultation document and impact assessment, our proposals are designed to give effective, locally managed support to the child care sector so that parents and children can have the child care that they need. We proposed that new targeted support arrangements would be administered by local authorities as part of their new child care sufficiency duty. There is no reduction in subsidy under our proposals. The proposal was that we move from a national blanket 100 per cent. subsidy to an arrangement where some funding is available for local decisions about how best to use the money to respond to local market conditions.
	During the consultation, we met with many key stakeholders from the child care sector including representative organisations and local authorities, whose views are being taken into account as we analyse the responses to the consultation and make decisions.

Children: Health Services

Maria Miller: To ask the Secretary of State for Children, Schools and Families when the Child Health Strategy will be published; and what the reasons are for the time taken to publish it.

Beverley Hughes: holding answer 16 May 2008
	The Child Health Strategy will be developed over the summer, and published in the autumn. This extra time allows for more consultation with key stakeholders, parents and young people over the summer, and enables the findings of Lord Darzi's Next Stage Review to be taken into account.
	The strategy seeks to clarify how health services, working with schools and other partners, can work better to improve children and young people's health. It will build on the work already delivered through Every Child Matters and the National Service Framework for Children, Young People and Maternity Services 10-year plan.

Children's Centres

David Drew: To ask the Secretary of State for Children, Schools and Families how many children's centres there are in each local authority area; and what funding each local authority has allocated towards children's centres for 2008-09.

Beverley Hughes: There are currently 2,907 designated Sure Start children's centres across 150 local authorities. The information requested is given in the following table.
	
		
			  Local authority  Designated children's centres at 15 May2008  Children's centre revenue  Sure Start local programmes revenue  Children's centres capital 
			 Barking and Dagenham 14 4,116,294 2,342,832 253,256 
			 Barnet 13 3,651,335 666,072 781,046 
			 Barnsley 19 2,955,117 2,769,671 212,695 
			 Bath and North East Somerset 8 1,101,493 738,079 259,916 
			 Bedfordshire 25 4,008,481 518,168 874,465 
			 Bexley 12 2,176,482 625,807 436,785 
			 Birmingham 67 22,342,187 7,755,247 991,341 
			 Blackburn with Darwen 13 2,269,055 3,197,980 634,180 
			 Blackpool 12 1,896,377 1,569,695 542,990 
			 Bolton 15 3,866,451 2,469,333 304,379 
			 Bournemouth 7 1,676,318 456,402 179,498 
			 Bracknell Forest 6 908,259 0 242,472 
			 Bradford 33 9,547,368 4,855,949 753,941 
			 Brent 12 4,217,355 1,649,794 698,769 
			 Brighton and Hove 14 2,780,280 912,804 434,581 
			 Bristol, City of 25 5,269,522 2,225,270 564,075 
			 Bromley 16 2,807,250 576,903 598,850 
			 Buckinghamshire 24 3,988,799 729,078 838,187 
			 Bury 11 2,377,419 564,612 260,705 
			 Calderdale 17 2,492,673 1,657,546 244,575 
			 Cambridgeshire 27 4,975,826 1,055,985 986,999 
			 Camden 16 2,915,977 3,280,348 601,189 
			 Cheshire 31 5,955,561 2,425,663 869,960 
			 Cornwall 36 4,358,663 3,867,661 694,193 
			 Coventry 18 3,966,606 2,380,884 342,131 
			 Croydon 20 4,576,381 456,402 566,787 
			 Cumbria 28 4,851,100 2,674,511 734,062 
			 Darlington 6 1,108,558 1,180,829 182,168 
			 Derby, City of 14 2,976,638 2,076,863 329,012 
			 Derbyshire 42 7,319,880 2,818,688 832,316 
			 Devon 31 5,868,995 2,424,437 1,048,235 
			 Doncaster 23 3,983,438 3,308,858 298,684 
			 Dorset 17 2,770,062 625,807 667,272 
			 Dudley 17 3,598,806 1,773,004 375,217 
			 Durham 43 4,929,374 7,012,019 514,361 
			 Ealing 22 4,940,497 1,081,537 669,649 
			 East Riding of Yorkshire 14 2,743,794 584,087 524,547 
			 East Sussex 28 3,995,304 3,460,552 698,435 
			 Enfield 16 4,606,498 456,402 694,755 
			 Essex 60 11,916,047 2,222,983 2,175,268 
			 Gateshead 15 2,358,985 1,923,565 453T891 
			 Gloucestershire 31 4,903,106 1,063,965 819,722 
			 Greenwich 23 4,898,580 3,034,536 378,553 
			 Hackney 19 6,408,561 4,388,368 592,054 
			 Halton 12 1,146,129 3,185,994 549,189 
			 Hammersmith and Fulham 12 2,517,184 1,686,438 277,060 
			 Hampshire 58 9,761,347 1,300,974 2,086,510 
			 Haringey 17 4,534,989 3,401,879 356,605 
			 Harrow 9 1,929,102 0 585,447 
			 Hartlepool 7 1,162,495 1,719,247 315,695 
			 Havering 10 1,921,697 621,636 382,399 
			 Herefordshire 9 1,604,418 630,607 283,510 
			 Hertfordshire 50 8,541,246 0 2,169,254 
			 Hillingdon 12 2,705,106 614,310 607,969 
			 Hounslow 14 3,699,753 456,402 496,397 
			 Isle of Wight 8 1,310,104 456,402 368,562 
			 Isles of Scilly 1 30,000 0 0 
			 Islington 16 3,319,558 3,932,802 48,597 
			 Kensington and Chelsea 8 1,666,728 928,953 31,771 
			 Kent 70 12,900,421 5,482,436 2,249,065 
			 Kingston upon Hull, City of 18 2,846,309 4,279,467 212,373 
			 Kingston upon Thames 7 1,174,144 0 351,323 
			 Kirklees 30 6,123,816 3,066,124 614,489 
			 Knowsley 15 2,080,755 2,821,080 314,780 
			 Lambeth 25 6,412,037 3,786,350 324,637 
			 Lancashire 61 11,852,273 10,439,383 1,272,514 
			 Leeds 47 8,434,660 4,203,750 830,964 
			 Leicester, City of 18 5,620,011 4,283,336 430,738 
			 Leicestershire 26 4,440,648 720,078 966,583 
			 Lewisham 15 5,701,962 3,127,983 372,295 
			 Lincolnshire 36 5,895,063 4,040,499 864,863 
			 Liverpool 24 6,788,826 6,345,711 385,613 
			 London, City of 1 140,000 0 0 
			 Luton 19 3,620,240 608,862 457,740 
			 Manchester 34 8,202,080 7,023,657 449,905 
			 Medway 14 2,654,392 491,467 489,297 
			 Merton 9 1,991,912 571,562 427,946 
			 Middlesbrough 12 1,467,722 3,038,998 548,604 
			 Milton Keynes 13 2,724,983 596,603 560,327 
			 Newcastle upon Tyne 16 1,652,922 2,958,414 439,100 
			 Newham 20 2,540,574 3,895,904 620,386 
			 Norfolk 36 7,003,180 5,172,397 545,588 
			 North East Lincolnshire 12 6,727,603 4,726,856 1,102,986 
			 North Lincolnshire 11 1,562,893 1,350,057 248,712 
			 North Somerset 10 1,528,050 607,480 388,899 
			 North Tyneside 11 2,114,610 1,734,089 258,428 
			 North Yorkshire 29 5,158,940 1,242,045 982,738 
			 Northamptonshire 31 6,845,128 2,378,748 1,144,474 
			 Northumberland 23 2,678,420 2,960,948 445,505 
			 Nottingham, City of 16 4,088,902 4,344,129 215,645 
			 Nottinghamshire 50 7,145,723 5,393,408 810,489 
			 Oldham 14 3,777,394 2,751,507 275,799 
			 Oxfordshire 29 5,689,733 456,402 1,185,714 
			 Peterborough, City of 11 2,363,149 1,803,919 347,612 
			 Plymouth, City of 15 2,577,921 2,430,115 305,335 
			 Poole 6 1,018,560 0 269,943 
			 Portsmouth 13 2,100,669 1,221,484 269,579 
			 Reading 10 1,802,346 456,402 308,732 
			 Redbridge 14 2,775,658 469,940 663,414 
			 Redcar and Cleveland 10 1,255,381 2,276,068 571,232 
			 Richmond upon Thames 9 1,487,038 0 453,089 
			 Rochdale 15 2,848,254 3,029,542 194,346 
			 Rotherham 20 3,376,383 1,644,910 231,993 
			 Rutland 1 284,499 0 323,630 
			 Salford 15 3,165,731 2,898,590 212,746 
			 Sandwell 18 5,110,272 4,623,927 298,203 
			 Sefton 16 2,480,716 2,291,335 241,213 
			 Sheffield 31 6,000,844 4,743,604 582,854 
			 Shropshire 14 2,390,049 1,333,236 514,648 
			 Slough 8 2,015,858 456,402 327,173 
			 Solihull 11 1,954,298 456,402 244,100 
			 Somerset 33 4,366,985 1,739,138 732,234 
			 South Gloucestershire 11 1,825,296 0 527,838 
			 South Tyneside 12 1,741,227 2,506,366 26,631 
			 Southampton 12 2,607,160 1,710,903 323,012 
			 Southend on Sea 11 1,868,525 542,366 243,081 
			 Southwark 21 5,518,711 4,543,720 274,783 
			 St. Helens 12 2,028,492 3,027,310 449,400 
			 Staffordshire 38 6,741,890 2,670,090 986,483 
			 Stockport 15 2,851,594 504,151 350,531 
			 Stockton on Tees 10 1624,756 3,176,064 254,692 
			 Stoke on Trent 13 3,167,797 3,607,154 291,582 
			 Suffolk 35 6,049,179 1,721,597 977,712 
			 Sunderland 17 3,297,851 4,251,511 510,016 
			 Surrey 51 7,771,746 0 2,166,485 
			 Sutton 10 1,799,856 751,581 330,561 
			 Swindon 10 1,913,329 630,898 409,879 
			 Tameside 15 2,912,093 2,426,018 202,859 
			 Telford and Wrekin 13 2,086,804 1,198,982 208,568 
			 Thurrock 10 2,030,520 456,402 321,070 
			 Torbay 7 1,099,404 1,302,306 454,448 
			 Tower Hamlets 21 6,094,142 4,411,051 352,515 
			 Trafford 10 2,380,757 456,402 398,584 
			 Wakefield 20 4,240,009 2,399,289 318,202 
			 Walsall 15 3,993,429 3,086,846 266,481 
			 Waltham Forest 14 4,776,663 2,485,010 444,444 
			 Wandsworth 16 3,703,994 1,240,695 770,725 
			 Warrington 11 1,929,604 1,216,984 272,856 
			 Warwickshire 30 4,413,790 1,054,967 826,800 
			 West Berkshire 6 1,245,575 0 375,566 
			 West Sussex 36 5,559,324 1,348,840 1,279,846 
			 Westminster, City of 12 2,667,426 1,876,935 304,885 
			 Wigan 17 4,446,819 940,360 322,593 
			 Wiltshire 20 4,106,175 0 790,413 
			 Windsor and Maidenhead 6 1,041,716 0 343,092 
			 Wirral 19 3,935,001 2,464,277 346,788 
			 Wokingham 7 1,068,203 0 332,467 
			 Wolverhampton 16 3,320,126 3,185,642 247,672 
			 Worcestershire 25 4,612,927 1,757,680 787,042 
			 York, City of 8 4,358,663 3,867,661 694,193 
		
	
	The Department allocates capital and revenue funding to local authorities for children's centres and former Sure Start local programmes through the Sure Start, Early Years and Childcare Grant.
	Local authorities have responsibility for allocating the resources they receive from the Department to individual children's centres in their area. Funding should be targeted on children's centres serving the most disadvantaged children and families and we have provided guidance to local authorities on directing the greatest resource to where needs are highest.

Females: Employment

Lorely Burt: To ask the Secretary of State for Children, Schools and Families what assessment he has made of progress made by Connexions in encouraging girls into non-traditional occupations; and what steps he is taking to ensure further progress.

Kevin Brennan: This is a deep-rooted and intransigent problem which will require action on a number of fronts and we do not have evidence of the impact of Connexions in isolation. The Business, Enterprise and Regulatory Reform Select Committee report: Jobs for the Girls: Two Years On, published in February this year, recognised that progress had been made but stressed the importance of careers advice and work experience in achieving our gender equality aimsrecommending that more resource should be allocated to this.
	We know, therefore that there is much more to be done and we are planning a range of measures which will make clear our expectations on countering gender stereotyping and seek to embed good practice. Connexions services will continue to play a key role. From April of this year local authorities will commission and manage local information, advice and guidance services. The new Quality Standards for young people's information, advice and guidance published last autumn set out our expectations of the services that will be deliveredincluding emphasising the importance of challenging gender stereotypes and limited career aspirations.

GCE A-Level

Michael Gove: To ask the Secretary of State for Children, Schools and Families how many A-level examination scripts were re-marked in 2007.

Jim Knight: 57,648 A Level examination units were re-marked by the awarding bodies in 2007, out of a total of 6.8 million A Level unit entries.
	A re-mark involves a second examiner (who wherever possible was not involved in the original marking) checking the candidate's script to make sure that the authorised mark scheme was applied correctly. It also includes a clerical re-check of the candidate's script to make sure that every question has been marked and that the total number of marks awarded for each paper is correct.
	More information is available in the Qualifications and Curriculum Authority's 2007 report on Enquiries About Results And Appeals which is published online at:
	http://www.ofqual.gov.uk/1435.aspx

Pre-School Education: Finance

David Taylor: To ask the Secretary of State for Children, Schools and Families if his Department will collaborate with local authorities to provide guidance to nurseries on the changes likely to occur to the distribution of the Nursery Education Funding Grant as a result of the provision of free nursery places from 2010.

Beverley Hughes: holding answer 19 May 2008
	This Department is currently working with six local authorities who are accelerating progress to implement a single funding formula in April 2009. This project will contribute to good practice guidance. Initial guidance drawn from the experience of these authorities was issued to all local authorities in March and further comprehensive guidance will be distributed this summer. Our expectation is that local authorities will be responsible for developing their own formulas and for issuing guidance to early years providers as part of the implementation process.

Schools: Sports

Kerry McCarthy: To ask the Secretary of State for Children, Schools and Families what steps he is taking to improve access to sport in schools for blind and partially-sighted children.

Kevin Brennan: The requirements of the National Curriculum for physical education (PE) are compulsory for all pupils aged five to 16. This includes blind and partially-sighted pupils. The statutory documents for PE set out an inclusion statement which requires schools to adapt their provision so that it is appropriate for the pupils being taught. These enable schools to adapt their PE and sporting provision in order to: set suitable learning challenges; respond to pupils' diverse learning needs; and overcome potential barriers to learning for individual pupils or for groups of pupils.
	The PE and School Sport Professional Development Programme includes resources and materials which help teachers to improve the inclusive nature of their PE and sporting provision. The training is free to all schools and, since 2006, over 1,300 resources have been accessed by teachers wanting to improve in this area.
	Equity is also imbedded within the national PE and Sport Strategy for Young People, which is creating a five hours of sport offer for all five to 16-year-olds. Blind and partially-sighted children will benefit from the network of 450 multi-sport disability clubs that will be created through this.

Special Educational Needs: Freedom of Information

David Laws: To ask the Secretary of State for Children, Schools and Families whether schools are required to inform parents when their child is identified as having a special educational need; and if he will make a statement.

Kevin Brennan: Yes. Section 317A of the Education Act 1996, which was inserted by the Special Educational Needs and Disability Act 2001, obliges the governing bodies of maintained schools to inform a child's parent that special educational needs provision is being made for him or her because it is considered that the child has special educational needs.

Sure Start Programme: Communication Skills

Maria Miller: To ask the Secretary of State for Children, Schools and Families what recent assessment he has made of the capacity of Sure Start centre staff to help children develop language skills.

Beverley Hughes: From September 2008, all settings offering early years provision will be required to deliver the Early Years Foundation Stage. This supports all settings to plan play, activities and experiences that can help all children to make progress in their development and learning. It stresses the importance of practitioners being alert to the early signs of needs that could lead to later difficulties and provides a framework to enable early years practitioners to respond quickly and appropriately, involving other agencies as necessary.
	Sure Start children's centres play a key role in the positive promotion of children's vocabulary, speech and language development and in identifying speech and language difficulties. We expect staff in children's centres to have a good understanding of how to promote children's language acquisition and identify speech and language difficulties as part of a centre-wide strategy and approach, supported by access to more specialist speech and language services which are jointly commissioned by PCTs and local authorities.
	We are working with I CAN, the children's communication charity, to pilot their Early Talk training programme in 200 children's centres. This will train children's centre practitioners, alongside speech and language therapists, to develop their knowledge and understanding of language development, and the ways in which they can help support parents in developing communication skills at home.

Youth Referral Orders

Sally Keeble: To ask the Secretary of State for Children, Schools and Families how many youth referral orders have been issued in each region.

Beverley Hughes: The information requested is set out in the following table.
	
		
			  Persons sentenced to reference to a youth justice panelreferral order( 1)  by criminal justice area, 2006 
			   Referral orders 
			 Avon and Somerset 656 
			 Bedfordshire 279 
			 Cambridgeshire 375 
			 Cheshire 601 
			 Cleveland 391 
			 Cumbria 407 
			 Derbyshire 564 
			 Devon and Cornwall 734 
			 Dorset 380 
			 Durham 469 
			 Essex 1,048 
			 Gloucestershire 321 
			 Greater Manchester 2,259 
			 Gwent 345 
			 Hampshire 1,086 
			 Hertfordshire 562 
			 Humberside 534 
			 Kent 860 
			 Lancashire 1,073 
			 Leicestershire 588 
			 Lincolnshire 135 
			 Merseyside 816 
			 Metropolitan Police 4,261 
			 Norfolk 337 
			 North Wales 445 
			 North Yorkshire 467 
			 Northamptonshire 101 
			 Northumbria 263 
			 Nottinghamshire 649 
			 South Wales 554 
			 South Yorkshire 844 
			 Staffordshire 501 
			 Suffolk 443 
			 Surrey 337 
			 Sussex 816 
			 Thames Valley 1,096 
			 Warwickshire 280 
			 West Mercia 681 
			 West Midlands 1,807 
			 West Yorkshire 1,399 
			 Wiltshire 306 
			   
			 Total England and Wales 30,070 
			 (1) Under Powers of Criminal Courts (Sentencing) Act 2000 SS 16-18, includes extensions of referral orders under S 18 (1c) (6).  Note: Please be aware that these figures have been drawn from administrative data systems. Although care is taken when processing and analysing the returns, the detail collected are subject to the inaccuracies inherent in any large scale recording system.

OLYMPICS

National Lottery: Olympic Games 2012

Pete Wishart: To ask the Minister for the Olympics what proportion of national lottery revenue have been attributable to the Dream Number Olympic Lottery game since that game was launched; and what the proportion was in each quarter of 2007-08.

Andy Burnham: I have been asked to reply 
	as my Department has responsibility for National Lottery income issues.
	As at 29 December 2007, sales attributable to the Dream Number Olympic Lottery Games since the first draw on 15 July 2005 totalled 103,430,390. This constitutes 1.4 per cent. of total national lottery sales.
	(a) Dream Number sales for each, available, quarter of 2007-08 and what this constitutes as a percentage of total national lottery sales:
	Quarter 1 2007-08 = 14.9 million, 1.3 per cent.
	Quarter 2 2007-08 = 14.7 million, 1.2 per cent.
	Quarter 3 2007-08 = 14.8 million, 1.2 per cent.
	(b) The National Lottery Commission advise that sales figures, for all national lottery games, for the final quarter of 2007-08 will not be available until figures from the lottery operator have been audited. They will be available from 27 May via the 'Sales reporting' section of the National Lottery Commission's website at:
	www.natlotcomm.gov.uk.

CULTURE MEDIA AND SPORT

Apprentices

David Willetts: To ask the Secretary of State for Culture, Media and Sport how many  (a) apprenticeships and  (b) advanced apprenticeships there were in (i) his Department and (ii) the agencies for which he is responsible in the most recent year for which figures are available.

Gerry Sutcliffe: In 2007-08 no DCMS staff undertook apprenticeships or advanced apprenticeships. However, the Royal Parks Agency initiated an apprenticeship scheme for 10 contractors in September 2007 with a further 20 places planned over the next two years. DCMS is also in discussion with Government Skills concerning future participation in the Apprenticeships Pathfinder scheme.

Departmental Public Participation

Stewart Hosie: To ask the Secretary of State for Culture, Media and Sport what consultants have been contracted by his Department to conduct public participation activities in the last three years; and how much expenditure his Department has incurred on each such contract to date.

Gerry Sutcliffe: The Department for Culture, Media and Sport contracted the Central Office of Information (COI) to conduct the following public participation activities in the year 2007-08:
	
		
			  Event  Cost (excl VAT)  () 
			 London 2012: Ask the team Birmingham, 25 June 2007 36,478 
			 London 2012: Ask the team London, 11 October 2007 26,962 
			 London 2012: Ask the team Plymouth, 13 March 2008 18,799 
		
	
	No consultants were contracted by DCMS to conduct public participation activities in 2005-06 or 2006-07.

Horserace Totalisator Board: Finance

Greg Hands: To ask the Secretary of State for Culture, Media and Sport what the budgeted financial balance of the Tote is for the financial year 2008-09.

Gerry Sutcliffe: The information requested is held internally by the Tote and is commercially confidential. Its release could potentially harm the Tote's businesses, and also the outcome of any sale of the Tote on the open market.

Horserace Totalisator Board: Manpower

Greg Hands: To ask the Secretary of State for Culture, Media and Sport what the employee headcount of the Tote was on 30 April 2008.

Gerry Sutcliffe: The Tote's headcount at 30 April 2008 was 5,214, comprising 3,934 permanent staff, 1,230 casual staff and 50 fixed term staff.

National Lottery Commission: Conferences

Jeremy Hunt: To ask the Secretary of State for Culture, Media and Sport how much the National Lottery Commission spent on conferences in each of the last three years.

Gerry Sutcliffe: I have been informed by The National Lottery Commission that they spent the following amounts on conferences in each of the last three years:
	
		
			
			 2005-06 0 
			 2006-07 0 
			 2007-08 30,212.90 
		
	
	These figures exclude VAT.

INNOVATION, UNIVERSITIES AND SKILLS

Departmental Carbon Emissions

Philip Davies: To ask the Secretary of State for Innovation, Universities and Skills how much his Department and its predecessors spent on carbon offsetting in each of the last three years; and to which companies payments for carbon offsetting have been made in each such year.

David Lammy: DIUS came into existence in July 2007, but figures are not currently available for financial year 2007-08.
	DIUS has continued with arrangements inherited from its predecessor Departments, DfES and DTI.
	Spend on carbon offsetting for previous years are covered in the DCSF and BERR returns.

Departmental Equality

Theresa May: To ask the Secretary of State for Innovation, Universities and Skills whether his Department met the Civil Service diversity targets set out on page 51 of Cabinet Office Annual Report 2007 by April 2008.

David Lammy: The latest published statistics against overall civil service targets were at October 2007 and are available on the civil service website at
	http://www.civilservice.gov.uk/about/diversity/monitoring.asp.
	The final measurement against the targets will be published this autumn.
	The Department of Innovation, Universities and Skills was formed as a result of Machinery of Government changes in June 2007. The Department has information about the composition of its staff from two separate databases taken from its predecessor Departments and equality-related information on staff is also collected on different bases and definitions. There are also significant levels of non-declaration in key areas of equality-related information. Preliminary analysis suggests the following staff composition but this needs to be validated as we move on to a common data collection system next year:
	Currently three of 10 members of the DIUS board and three of four non-executive board members are women;
	20 per cent. of the top management posts (Permanent Secretary and Director General posts) are held by women (the Cabinet Office target is 30 per cent.);
	32 per cent. of DIUS senior civil servants are women (the Cabinet Office target for the whole civil service is 37 per cent.); however, of all staff around half are women;
	Where ethnic origin has been declared, some 6 per cent. of the total employee population are from a black and ethnic minority (BME) background. This proportion exceeds the Cabinet Office target (4 per cent.) for the work force as a whole;
	With the same caveat about the limitations of available information, 1 per cent. of the SCS are from a black and ethnic minority background (Cabinet Office target is 4 per cent.);
	Where status is known, disabled people form 8 per cent. of the total employee population, which exceeds the Cabinet Office target (of 3.2 per cent.).

Departmental Official Hospitality

Theresa May: To ask the Secretary of State for Innovation, Universities and Skills how many receptions he has hosted and funded in his capacity as Secretary of State in the last 12 months; which individuals and organisations  (a) were invited to and  (b) attended each reception; and what the cost was of each reception.

David Lammy: DIUS will publish in due course, an annual list providing information relating to official receptions hosted by Ministers in the Department during the course of the previous financial year.

Departmental Public Participation

Stewart Hosie: To ask the Secretary of State for Innovation, Universities and Skills how much his Department spent on  (a) written consultations,  (b) consultation roadshows and  (c) stakeholder focus groups in each of the last three years.

David Lammy: The information requested can be provided only at disproportionate cost.

Departmental Public Participation

Stewart Hosie: To ask the Secretary of State for Innovation, Universities and Skills what consultants have been contracted by his Department to conduct public participation activities in the last three years; and how much expenditure his Department has incurred on each such contract to date.

David Lammy: DIUS has used the following contractors, consultants and companies for public participation activities:
	
		
			  Consultancy/Contractors  Purpose  Cost 
			 Survey Monkey Higher Level Skills on-line consultation (Also used for internal surveys) One year licence of $200 
			 EZ Media Developing websites to support public consultations on ESOL and Information Adult Learning. 8,695.00 
			 Dialogue by Design Development of Innovation Nation on-line consultation 18,741.25

Foetal Tissue: Research

Stephen Williams: To ask the Secretary of State for Innovation, Universities and Skills what research on applications of umbilical cord blood his Department and its predecessors have  (a) undertaken and  (b) funded in the last five years.

Ian Pearson: The Medical Research Council (MRC) is aware of the potential benefits of umbilical cord blood for research. MRC funds two major centres of excellence with interests in this area: the MRC Molecular Haematology Unit in Oxford; and the new MRC Centre for Regenerative Medicine in Edinburghand part of their research is considering the research possibilities around the use of umbilical cord blood.
	In addition, MRC has in the past provided grant funding for research in this area, although the potential utility of cord blood for research outside of the immediate transplantation field has only recently been recognised.
	MRC is currently in discussion with the Wellcome Trust and the Anthony Nolan Trust with regard to the feasibility and potential benefits of setting up a national cord blood bank for research.

Foetal Tissue: Research

Stephen Williams: To ask the Secretary of State for Innovation, Universities and Skills what discussions he has had with the Secretary of State for Health on the Cord Blood Review.

Ian Pearson: I have not had a discussion with the Secretary of State for Health on the Cord Blood Review, however the Medical Research Council (MRC) is aware of the rationale behind the Department of Health's Cord Blood Review and will be represented at further discussions with the Department later this month.

London Airports

Michael Penning: To ask the Secretary of State for Innovation, Universities and Skills how many times his Department hired VIP facilities at  (a) Heathrow,  (b) Gatwick,  (c) Luton and  (d) Stansted airports in each month since May 2006; and what the expenditure on VIP facilities at each was in each of those months.

David Lammy: None.

Measurement: Wines

Nicholas Winterton: To ask the Secretary of State for Innovation, Universities and Skills what guidance his Department issues on the sizes of wine glasses used by wine-selling on-trade establishments; and if he will make a statement.

Ian Pearson: Neither the Department nor the National Weights and Measures Laboratory has issued guidance to business on this issue. However, advice on all aspects of compliance with weights and measures legislation is available to business from local trading standards departments.

Students: Finance

David Willetts: To ask the Secretary of State for Innovation, Universities and Skills whether students eligible for the exemption for foundation degrees in the new funding criteria for equivalent or lower qualification students will continue to be eligible for the exemption should they continue to a bachelor's degree.

Bill Rammell: Students without a first HE qualification who study a foundation degree and then continue to a bachelor's degree will continue to attract institutional funding.
	Students with a first HE qualification will benefit from the exemption while they study for a foundation degree because that is a specific qualification designed for and by employers. But the exemption does not extend to supporting students who already have a first bachelor's degree or higher qualification to take another one an equivalent or lower level in a different subject after having studied a foundation degree unless that subject was strategically important or the bachelor's degree in question was co-funded by employers.

Vocational Training

John Hayes: To ask the Secretary of State for Innovation, Universities and Skills what proportion of his departmental staff have received vocational training.

David Lammy: The Department for Innovation, Universities and Skills was formed as a result of Machinery of Government changes in June 2007. The Department's people information is maintained on the HR management systems of the two Departments from which staff were transferred, namely BERR and DCSF. Neither of these Departments is able to provide information on vocational training as their current systems do not hold central information on training or qualifications. As a consequence of this, identification of the level of vocational training could be collected only at disproportionate cost.
	The introduction of a single new HR management system in 2009 will allow staff to record their qualifications and thereby enable monitoring.

DUCHY OF LANCASTER

Departmental Data Protection

James Brokenshire: To ask the Chancellor of the Duchy of Lancaster whether any officials in his Department were disciplined or dismissed for  (a) alleged breaches of data protection requirements and  (b) inappropriate use of personal or sensitive data in each of the last three years for which figures are available.

Edward Miliband: The Cabinet Office has neither disciplined nor dismissed any employee in the past three years for alleged breaches of data protection requirements or inappropriate use of personal or sensitive data.

Immigration

James Clappison: To ask the Chancellor of the Duchy of Lancaster what estimate he has made of the number of inward migrants to the UK intending to stay for 12 months or more who cited work-related purposes as the main reason for migration in each of the last three years for which figures are available; and how many work permit holders were given leave to enter the UK in each of those years.

Phil Hope: The information requested falls within the responsibility of the UK Statistics Authority. I have asked the Authority to reply.
	 Letter from Karen Dunnell, dated 20 May 2008:
	As National Statistician, I have been asked to reply to your question asking what estimate has been made of the number of inward migrants to the UK intending to stay for 12 months or more who cited work-related purposes as the main reason for migration in each of the last three years for which figures are available; and how many work permit holders were given leave to enter the UK in each of those years. (206263)
	The estimates of inward migration to the UK of those intending to stay 12 months or more are taken from the International Passenger Survey (IPS) and are shown in the table attached.
	Those with a work related reason for migration are those with a definite job to go to and those looking for work. The data are also broken down by British, European Union and non-European Union citizens as work permits are only applicable to non-EU citizens.
	Work permit data from the Home Office was provided for a previous Parliamentary Question. Please see Official Report, written answers, 12 September 2007 column 2159W to 2161W.
	
		
			  International migration: Estimates from the International Passenger survey time series 2004-06Citizenship by reason for migrationInflow (United Kingdom) 
			  Thousand 
			   2004  2005  2006 
			   Of which: 
			  Main reason for migration  Work related  Definite job  Looking for work  Work related  Definite job  Looking for work  Work related  Definite job  Looking for work 
			 All citizenships 215 143 72 226 152 74 214 149 65 
			 British 37 15 22 48 23 25 31 16 15 
			 European Union(1) 65 51 14 86 62 24 83 55 28 
			 Non-European Union 112 76 36 93 68 25 100 78 22 
			 (1) Figures show the EU25 (EU15 plus the 10 countries of Cyprus, the Czech Republic, Estonia, Hungary, Latvia, Lithuania, Malta, Poland, Slovakia and Slovenia). These countries are included in the definition for the whole of 2004, whether migration occurred before or after 1 May 2004.  Note: Those with a work related reason for migration are those with a definite job and those looking for work.

Pay

Peter Bottomley: To ask the Chancellor of the Duchy of Lancaster what the average hourly earnings of  (a) women and  (b) men undertaking part-time (i) manual and (ii) non-manual work was in each of the last five years; and what average hourly earnings for (A) women and (B) men in part-time work were in each such year.

Phil Hope: The information requested falls within the responsibility of the UK Statistics Authority. I have asked the Authority to reply.
	 Letter from Karen Dunnell, dated 20 May 2008:
	As National Statistician, I have been asked to reply to your recent Parliamentary Question asking what the average hourly earnings of (a) women and (b) men doing part-time (i) manual and (ii) non-manual work was in each of the last five years; and what the average hourly earnings for (A) women and (B) men was in part-time work in each such year. (206319)
	Average levels of earnings are estimated from the Annual Survey of Hours and Earnings (ASHE). The ASHE, carried out in April each year, is the most comprehensive source of earnings information in the United Kingdom. It is a sample of employees who are members of pay-as-you-earn (PAYE) schemes.
	I attach a table for the last five years, showing the average hourly earnings for UK manual and non-manual part-time employees.
	
		
			  Gross hourly pay ()part-time employee jobs( 1) : United Kingdom 
			  Description  Median  Mean 
			  2003   
			 Male 6.02 9.14 
			 Female 6.13 7.84 
			 Male Non-Manual 10.67 14.50 
			 Male Manual 5.29 6.24 
			 Female Non-Manual 8.40 10.11 
			 Female Manual 5.33 5.86 
			
			  2004( 2)   
			 Male 6.22 9.21 
			 Female 6.39 8.18 
			 Male Non-Manual 10.70 14.27 
			 Male Manual 5.53 6.57 
			 Female Non-Manual 8.70 10.45 
			 Female Manual 5.48 6.08 
			
			  2004( 3)   
			 Male 6.24 9.18 
			 Female 6.35 8.13 
			 Male Non-Manual 10.55 14.06 
			 Male Manual 5.53 6.61 
			 Female Non-Manual 8.64 10.39 
			 Female Manual 5.46 6.06 
			
			  2005   
			 Male 6.58 10.02 
			 Female 6.75 8.71 
			 Male Non-Manual 11.42 15.58 
			 Male Manual 5.75 7.12 
			 Female Non-Manual 9.39 11.29 
			 Female Manual 5.70 6.35 
			
			  2006( 4)   
			 Male 6.89 10.49 
			 Female 7.03 9.17 
			 Male Non-Manual 12.60 16.37 
			 Male Manual 5.98 7.28 
			 Female Non-Manual 9.88 11.99 
			 Female Manual 5.96 6.57 
			
			  2006( 5)   
			 Male 6.88 10.47 
			 Female 7.02 9.14 
			 Male Non-Manual 12.47 16.27 
			 Male Manual 5.98 7.28 
			 Female Non-Manual 9.81 11.92 
			 Female Manual 5.96 6.58 
			
			  2007   
			 Male 7.22 11.07 
			 Female 7.30 9.58 
			 Male Non-Manual 13.97 17.51 
			 Male Manual 6.15 7.64 
			 Female Non-Manual 10.29 12.63 
			 Female Manual 6.19 6.87 
			 (1) Employees on adult rates whose pay for the survey pay-period was not affected by absence. (2) 2004 results excluding supplementary survey for comparison with 2003. (3) 2004 results including supplementary surveys designed to improve coverage of the survey (for more information see National Statistics website www.statistics.gov.uk). (4) 2006 results are methodology consistent with 2005. (5) 2006 results are methodology consistent with 2007.  Notes: 1. The manual/non-manual classification is derived from National Statistics Socio-economic Classification (NS-SEC). Further information is available at: http://www.statistics.gov.uk/methods_quality/ns_sec/default.asp 2. Values 1 and 2 of the 'Three Class' split define non-manual and Value 3 defines manual. It is important to note that a manual/non-manual split derived from NS-SEC is not the same as the manual/non-manual split used in NES 2002 and earlier.  Source: Annual Survey of Hours and Earnings, Office for National Statistics. 2003-07

Smoking

Mark Hoban: To ask the Chancellor of the Duchy of Lancaster how many smoking shelters were built at each of his Department's London buildings in each of the last five years.

Edward Miliband: In 2007-08, the Cabinet Office built one smoking shelter, to replace an earlier temporary shelter located at the rear of 70 Whitehall building. This is also located at the rear of 70 Whitehall.

Tracy Temple

Eric Pickles: To ask the Chancellor of the Duchy of Lancaster in which Department Ms Tracy Temple works.

Parmjit Dhanda: I have been asked to reply.
	It is not Government practice to name individual civil servants below the senior civil service or comment on their employment.

INTERNATIONAL DEVELOPMENT

Developing Countries: Bilateral Aid

Stephen Crabb: To ask the Secretary of State for International Development on what occasions bilateral aid has been reduced or interrupted because  (a) a partner government had moved significantly away from agreed poverty reduction outcomes,  (b) a partner government was in significant violation of human rights or other international obligations and  (c) there had been a significant breakdown in partner government financial management and accountability since March 2005.

Shahid Malik: The Department for International Development (DFID) reported information on aid reductions and interruptions since March 2005 in its departmental reports for 2006, 2007 and 2008. All the reports can be found on the DFID website:
	www.dfid.gov.uk

Developing Countries: Education

Michael Moore: To ask the Secretary of State for International Development if his Department will take steps to ensure that the funding of education is part of every humanitarian response.

Douglas Alexander: The Department for International Development's (DFID) humanitarian policy seeks to ensure that priority needs are met in emergency situations. In an emergency, education is considered alongside other humanitarian needs and is funded in situations where it is considered high priority by the UN Humanitarian Co-ordinator in the affected country. UNICEF and Save the Children share responsibility for ensuring that education needs are met, which includes demonstrating education needs to the Humanitarian Co-ordinator.

India: Children

Si�n James: To ask the Secretary of State for International Development what estimate he has made of the level of child labour in India.

Shahid Malik: According to available data (the government of India National Sample Survey 2004-05) there are 70 million child labourers in India or a quarter of all child labourers in the world. A large proportion of India's child labourers are Dalit (formerly untouchables) and Adivasi (tribal) children. The majority of working children live in rural areas, with over 80 per cent. of them employed in agricultural and non-formal sectors and many in bonded labour.
	The Department for International Development (DFID) supports the government of India and other partners to protect children in India. For example, DFID India supports the government's flagship programme for universal elementary education, Sarva Shiksha Abhiyan (SSA). Studies of child migrant labourers have found that discouragement at school was one of the factors that pushed children into work. Increasing enrolment, retention and reducing drop out rates are central to the SSA programme, which has also pioneered bridge schools designed to bring working children back into mainstream education. DFID India's strategic partnership with the International Labour Organisation (ILO) is contributing directly to the elimination of child labour in Andhra Pradesh. The project has been successful in helping government of Andhra Pradesh to reduce the number of child labourers in the state from 1.3 million to 0.2 million by 2007. Working with government, civil society, employers and trade unions an innovative model for reducing child labour in urban areas has been developed and is now being promoted nationally by the ILO.

India: Education

Si�n James: To ask the Secretary of State for International Development what support his Department has given to educational development projects in India in each of the last three years.

Shahid Malik: The Department for International Development (DFID) has spent 161 million since 2005 in support of the Indian government's flagship 'Sarva Shiksha Abhiyan' (SSA) universal elementary education programme: 58 million in 2005-06; 50 million in 2006-07; and 53 million in 2007-08.
	SSA is the central government's prime vehicle for delivering on the universal primary education (UPE) millennium development goal (MDG) in India. The aim is to ensure that by 2010 all children in India are receiving eight years of basic education of acceptable quality, regardless of sex, caste, creed, family income or location. In addition to SSA, in the last three years DFID has also provided 27 million in support of primary education in the State of Orissa and 9.2 million in support of primary education in West Bengal.

BUSINESS, ENTERPRISE AND REGULATORY REFORM

Business: Fossil Fuels

Jim Cunningham: To ask the Secretary of State for Business, Enterprise and Regulatory Reform what steps the Government has taken to reduce businesses' dependency on fossil fuels.

Malcolm Wicks: holding answer 1 May 2008
	UK energy policy is based on a market approach. With rising fossil fuel (oil, gas and coal) prices, which also feed into the price of electricity, there is every incentive for businesses to reduce their dependence on fossil fuels themselves without Government intervention. However, in the context of our climate change policy, the Government are taking a large number of actions that will reduce the UK's dependence on fossil fuel-based energy. These include:
	De-carbonising the electricity mix through EU emissions trading system (ETS);
	Renewables obligation, carbon capture and storage (CCS) demonstration, and the nuclear policy framework;
	Providing funding and support to emerging non-fossil-fuel technologies in the transport, electricity and heat sectors, for example, via the Environmental Transformation Fund;
	Reducing use of fossil-based transport fuels through the renewable transport fuel obligation (RTFO);
	Installation of smart meters in businesses thereby allowing them to have more direct control over the energy spending and therefore dependency on fossil fuels; and
	Carbon reduction commitments (CRC)starting in January 2010which commit large business not in the EU ETS to reduce their carbon emissions and thereby their use of fossil fuels.
	Climate change levy acts to encourage use of renewablesas businesses can be exempted from the levy (levy exemption certificates) if they install renewables. The Carbon Trust was set up to encourage business to reduce their carbon footprint.

Export Credits Guarantee Department: Standards

Mike Hancock: To ask the Secretary of State for Business, Enterprise and Regulatory Reform what plans he has to review the business principles of the Export Credits Guarantee Department; and what progress has been made in developing proposals for a review.

Malcolm Wicks: There is no plan to review ECGD's business principles in the immediate future.

Farepak

Gordon Banks: To ask the Secretary of State for Business, Enterprise and Regulatory Reform when the Companies Investigation Branch expects to receive independent legal advice on its report into Farepak.

Patrick McFadden: holding answer 19 May 2008
	 Companies Investigations Branch will be receiving independent legal advice during the course of the next few weeks.

Heating: EU Law

Anne McIntosh: To ask the Secretary of State for Business, Enterprise and Regulatory Reform how many times his Department discussed the proposed labelling of heating systems in the energy-using products directive with representatives from the European Commission in 2007-08; and what plans he has for such discussions in 2008-09.

Malcolm Wicks: Both BERR and DEFRA officials have been in regular contact with the European Commission concerning the boilers and water heater proposals under the energy-using products directive in 2007-08. The latest engagement includes:
	EuP Consultation Forum on 18 December 2007;
	A bilateral meeting with the Commission on 31 January 2008;
	EuP Consultation Forum on 29 February 2008;
	Conference call with Commission on 24 April 2008; and
	An informal meeting with Commission and other member states is planned for 22 May 2008.
	In addition to the discussions with the Commission, BERR and DEFRA have continued to work closely with the relevant industry sectors and BERR hosted a full day workshop (chaired by DEFRA) with industry representatives at BERR in February this year.
	A similar level of engagement is expected over the coming 12 months.

Low Carbon Buildings Programme

Gregory Barker: To ask the Secretary of State for Business, Enterprise and Regulatory Reform what recent representations he has received on the efficacy of the Low Carbon Buildings programme; and if he will make a statement.

Malcolm Wicks: The Low Carbon Buildings programme Phase 1 was set up with a key objective to demonstrate the potential of combining microgeneration technologies with energy efficiency to reduce carbon emissions in buildings. Phase 2 of the LCBP had aims to achieve reductions in the costs of microgeneration products; to see microgeneration products demonstrated on a wider scale; and to achieve greater visibility and understanding of microgeneration technologies by the general public as a result of their installation on a wide range of public buildings. We monitor progress against these objectives and periodically review overall effectiveness.
	As part of the normal course of business we have ongoing discussions with a wide range of stakeholders about the Low Carbon Buildings programme.

Nuclear Installations Inspectorate: Sellafield

Dai Davies: To ask the Secretary of State for Business, Enterprise and Regulatory Reform when he expects the Nuclear Installations Inspectorate to grant consent to operate the MOX plant at Sellafield.

Malcolm Wicks: The nuclear installations inspectorate (NII) has not yet identified a date for granting a consent to operate the Sellafield MOX plant (SMP) facility. Sellafield Ltd., as holder of the site licence and responsibility for safety on the site, will formally request a consent to operate the MOX plant from the NII when it believes that a satisfactory demonstration of successful commissioning has been achieved and an appropriate safety case submitted in support of the application.

Oil: Prices

Norman Baker: To ask the Secretary of State for Business, Enterprise and Regulatory Reform what information he holds on the assumptions and predictions made by  (a) each EU country and  (b) each G8 country about the price of oil in (i) 2010 and (ii) 2020 for benchmarking purposes.

Malcolm Wicks: holding answer 19 May 2008
	The Department is currently in the process of updating its oil price assumptions for the period till 2020, which are used in the Department's analytical work. The last set of future oil price assumptions were published alongside the Energy White Paper in May 2007 and can be found in Annex B of the document titled 'Updated energy and carbon emissions projections: the energy white paper' at the following link:
	http://www.berr.gov.uk/files/file39580.pdf.
	However, the Department does not hold information on the oil price assumptions and predictions made by the other EU and G8 countries.
	The US Department of Energy publishes oil price related information on its EIA website. More information can be found at the following links:
	http://www.eia.doe.gov/oiatf/ieo/index.html
	http://www.eia.doe.gov/oiaf/ieo/pdf/0484(2007).pdf

Post Offices: Closures

Charles Hendry: To ask the Secretary of State for Business, Enterprise and Regulatory Reform how many post offices which were not closed as part of the Post Office closure programme have closed since October 2007.

Patrick McFadden: holding answer 13 May 2008
	This is an operational matter for Post Office Ltd. (POL). I have therefore asked Alan Cook, Managing Director, of POL to reply direct to the hon. Member.
	Copies of the letter will be placed in the Libraries of the House.

Post Offices: Gloucestershire

David Drew: To ask the Secretary of State for Business, Enterprise and Regulatory Reform which local authorities in Gloucestershire made submissions to the recent restructuring review for post offices.

Patrick McFadden: This is an operational matter for Post Office Ltd. (POL). I have therefore asked Alan Cook, Managing Director, of POL to reply direct to the hon. Member.
	Copies of the letter will be placed in the Libraries of the House.

Royal Mail: Pensions

Charles Hendry: To ask the Secretary of State for Business, Enterprise and Regulatory Reform what the value of the investment fund established to support the Royal Mail Pension Plan was at the end of 2007-08.

Patrick McFadden: holding answer 13 May 2008
	Royal Mail's preliminary results published on 8 May indicate that the value of the escrow account put in place to support the pension fund is 1.07 billion.

Small Businesses: Solar Power

Tom Levitt: To ask the Secretary of State for Business, Enterprise and Regulatory Reform what sources of advice and financial support are available to small and medium enterprises seeking to employ solar power generation for their factories.

Malcolm Wicks: The Renewables Obligation is the Government's main mechanism for encouraging new renewable electricity generation with all eligible renewable electricity generation installations able to receive Renewable Obligation Certificates (ROCs). We have proposed that all electricity generated by solar photovoltaic panels will be eligible to claim 2 ROCs for every IMWh of renewable electricity generated from April 2009. This should benefit small and medium enterprises (SMEs) wishing to install solar photovoltaic panels.
	Under the Low Carbon Buildings Programme (LCBP), with an 86 million budget, around 30 million has been allocated to 6,300 projects, including 6.5 million to 152 projects in the private sector. Although all funding streams for SMEs have now closed to new applicants, we are working closely with the Carbon Trust on a number of private sector projects to raise awareness of the potential for combining microgeneration with energy efficiency to develop low carbon buildings. Further details are available at:
	www.lowcarbonbuildings.org.uk
	Advice is available from a number of sources, including the Carbon Trust who provides site surveys to organisations, including SMEs, looking to reduce their energy demand, save money and manage their carbon emissions more efficiently. Further details are available at:
	www.carbontrust.co.uk/solutions/sme_toolkit.htm
	Further assistance is available through Business Link at www.businesslink.gov.uk and Regional Development Agencies at:
	www.englandsrdas.com
	We are currently reviewing our support for renewable energy and will be consulting on this in the summer.

Solar Energy: Space Technology

Andrew Smith: To ask the Secretary of State for Business, Enterprise and Regulatory Reform what assessment he has made of the potential of space-based installations to harness solar power as an energy source.

Malcolm Wicks: We understand that there are developments taking place on space-based solar photovoltaic arrays with the potential to beam electricity back to earth. Although there are potential advantages over land-based installations, we understand that there remain questions related to technical feasibility, maintenance, costs and commercial application.

Utilities

Chris Ruane: To ask the Secretary of State for Business, Enterprise and Regulatory Reform on which occasions, and related to which matters, his Department has asked regulators of utilities to undertake specific investigations in the last five years; and which investigations were undertaken as a consequence.

Malcolm Wicks: In February 2007, following the issuing of a merger intervention notice under the Enterprise Act 2002 in the matter of BSkyB's acquisition of a 17.9 per cent. stake in ITV plc the Secretary of State also instructed Ofcom to investigate and report on the public interest considerations involving the need for a sufficient plurality of persons with control of media enterprises, as a result of BSkyB's acquisition.

Wind Power: Scouts and Guides

Christopher Chope: To ask the Secretary of State for Business, Enterprise and Regulatory Reform if he will meet representatives from Dorset Scouts to discuss the effect on scouting of the location of wind turbines close to residential scouting activity centres.

Malcolm Wicks: holding answer 19 May 2008
	Due to heavily committed diaries, I regret that it would not be possible for my right hon. Friend the Secretary of State or other Ministers from the Department for Business, Enterprise and Regulatory Reform (BERR) to meet representatives from Dorset Scouts to discuss the effect on scouting of the location of wind turbines close to residential scouting activity centres.
	Whether an application for consent for a particular wind farm is dealt with by BERR under section 36 of the Electricity Act 1989 or by the relevant local planning authority under the Town and Country Planning Act 1990, Dorset Scouts can put forward their views during the consultation period. Those views would then be taken into account before the decision is made.

COMMUNITIES AND LOCAL GOVERNMENT

Housing Renewal: East Lancashire

Gordon Prentice: To ask the Secretary of State for Communities and Local Government what recent assessment she has made of the performance of the East Lancashire housing market renewal pathfinder, Elevate.

Iain Wright: All nine housing market renewal pathfinders are assessed for the Department by the Audit Commission on a regular basis. The most recent assessment of Elevate's performance was made as part of the latest business planning round and published in February this year. This found that Elevate is performing well and continues to be in strong need of investment. As a result, we have announced funding of 150 million for the three-year period 2008-11.

Cranbrook Development: East Devon

Hugo Swire: To ask the Secretary of State for Communities and Local Government what plans she has to provide infrastructure for the proposed Cranbrook development in East Devon.

Caroline Flint: Government are working in partnership with local authorities and homebuilders on the delivery of this new community at Exeter. We have contributed 1 million in 2007-08, and 5.5 million has been allocated for 2008-11 for infrastructure, which will continue to support substantial further investment from the private sector.

Mortgages

Ben Chapman: To ask the Secretary of State for Communities and Local Government what recent discussions she has had with the mortgage industry on the cost of mortgages and likely trends in the number of repossessions.

Caroline Flint: The Chancellor of the Exchequer, the Chief Secretary to the Treasury and I met with the mortgage and lending industry on 22 April to discuss what the industry can do to support borrowers in difficulty during the current period of turbulence in global financial markets.
	Appropriate meetings are happening and will be arranged, to continue the useful exchange of information and agree action to be taken.

Traveller Caravans

James Gray: To ask the Secretary of State for Communities and Local Government how many Traveller caravans there were in England when the Caravan Sites Act 1968  (a) came into force and  (b) was repealed; and how many there are now.

Iain Wright: A bi-annual count of Gypsy and Traveller caravans in England has been undertaken since 1979. In January 1979, 8,358 caravans were counted. Part 2 of the Caravan Sites Act 1968, which included a duty on local authorities to provide sites, was repealed in 1994. In July 1994, 12,614 caravans were counted. In July 2007, 17,134 caravans were counted.

Empty Properties

Albert Owen: To ask the Secretary of State for Communities and Local Government what progress has been made on bringing empty properties back into use since 1997.

Iain Wright: Since 1997, the number of empty homes has reduced by 10 per cent. to 672,924 dwellings or some 3.1 per cent. of the housing stock.
	During that time we have been working closely with the independent Empty Homes Agency to encourage local authorities to tackle empty homes in their areas. We have also introduced new powers to allow local authorities to take over the management of private sector empty homes (Empty Dwelling Management Orders) where a voluntary approach is not successful.
	As a further incentive, from 2008, VAT will be charged at 5 per cent. on renovation of homes empty for two years or longer.

Working Neighbourhoods Fund

Tom Levitt: To ask the Secretary of State for Communities and Local Government what progress has been made on the use of the Working Neighbourhoods Fund to tackle worklessness.

John Healey: The Working Neighbourhood Fund (WNF) was announced in December 2007 and the initial payment was made in April 2008.
	We already know that all 65 WNF areas have included worklessness targets in their LAA and are developing plans to these ensure targets are met.

Women Councillors

Joan Humble: To ask the Secretary of State for Communities and Local Government what her response to the report of the Councillors Commission is, with particular reference to means of increasing the number of women councillors.

John Healey: The Government are concerned that only 29 per cent. of councillors are women. We established the Councillors Commission last year to consider how to get a wider range of people to become councillors. We will respond to the Councillors Commission report in the Empowerment White Paper, to be published in the summer.

Local Housing Need

Andrew George: To ask the Secretary of State for Communities and Local Government what plans she has to ensure future housing projections meet local housing need.

Iain Wright: The Government set out their plan for addressing housing need in last year's Housing Green Paper 'Homes for the future: more affordable, more sustainable', including setting a new target of providing 3 million additional homes by 2020. Delivery is taking place through a collaborative process between local authorities and other local and regional stakeholders, including involving local communities, as set out in national Planning Policy Statements.

Rating (Empty Properties) Act 2007

Chris Mullin: To ask the Secretary of State for Communities and Local Government what assessment she has made of the impact of the Rating (Empty Properties) Act 2007; and if she will make a statement.

John Healey: The likely effects of the reforms were set out in the impact assessment published by Communities and Local Government in May 2007 accompanying the introduction of the Rating (Empty Properties) Bill and a further assessment was laid before this House on 26 February accompanying the Non-Domestic Rating (Unoccupied Property) (England) Regulations Number 2008:386.

Inward Migration

Jim Devine: To ask the Secretary of State for Communities and Local Government what progress has been made on the development of plans to assist local authorities and housing providers to respond to the demands imposed by inward migration.

Caroline Flint: The Government recognise that in addition to the benefits the country derives from migration, there can be some transitional impacts. CLG is working across government and with our stakeholders to identify what additional support the Government can offer communities and public service providers in England experiencing migration related impacts.

Unitary Reorganisation: East Anglia

Henry Bellingham: To ask the Secretary of State for Communities and Local Government when she next expects to meet representatives of local authorities in East Anglia to discuss unitary reorganisation.

John Healey: I refer the hon. Member to the answer I gave on 1 April 2008,  Official Report, column 821W.

Eco-towns

Jeff Ennis: To ask the Secretary of State for Communities and Local Government what assessment she has made of the potential for eco-towns to contribute to an increase in the supply of housing and affordable housing.

Caroline Flint: In Eco-townsLiving a greener future, we have set out the number of homes that each of the shortlisted locations are expecting to deliver. Alongside this there is an assessment of the affordability pressure. As part of the eco-town criteria, between 30 and 50 per cent. of homes should be affordable.

Shared Equity Ownership

Helen Southworth: To ask the Secretary of State for Communities and Local Government what her assessment is of the role of shared equity ownership in helping people to purchase their first homes.

Caroline Flint: The Government's Low Cost Home Ownership scheme 'HomeBuy' which is based on equity sharing has helped over 35,000 people between 2006-08. The range of products available under the scheme have helped to make home ownership affordable to first time buyers, and enabled purchasers get a foot on the property ladder.

Regional Spatial Strategies

Nadine Dorries: To ask the Secretary of State for Communities and Local Government what the timetable is for the reviews of the regional spatial strategies by regional development agencies.

Iain Wright: Our consultation document Prosperous Places: Taking Forward the Review of Sub-national Economic Development and Regeneration was published on 31 March. This document invites views on how we should implement the new arrangements, including the role of local authorities. The closing date for responses is 20 June, and we intend to introduce a Bill in the next session.

Council Dwellings: Colchester

Bob Russell: To ask the Secretary of State for Communities and Local Government how many council dwellings have been  (a) sold and  (b) built in Colchester constituency since May 1997.

Iain Wright: Since April 1997, there have been 876 sales of council dwellings and no new dwellings built by Colchester borough council. In the same period, a total of 1,130 new affordable homes have been provided mainly through registered social landlords, of which 889 were for social rent.

Demolition: Finance

Stewart Jackson: To ask the Secretary of State for Communities and Local Government 
	(1)  how much housing renewal grant funding has been allocated for demolition of properties in each of the housing renewal pathfinder areas in 2008-09; and if she will make a statement;
	(2)  what estimate she has made of the number of  (a) demolitions and  (b) repairs, improvements and refurbishments in each of the housing renewal pathfinder areas in 2008-09; and if she will make a statement.

Iain Wright: Allocations to Housing Market Renewal pathfinders are made for the totality of their programmes, and not for individual elements, on the basis of strategies set out in their business plans. It is for individual pathfinders to judge how much should be spent on particular activities, taking into account local market conditions and the outcome of local consultations.
	In terms of outputs for 2008-09, pathfinders are currently considering their detailed plans in light of the specific funding allocations from the additional 1 billion of investment from this Department announced on 28 February 2008. Output targets will be agreed with the Department in due course, and set out in Funding Agreements for the year, copies of these will be placed in the Library of the House.

Departmental Consultants

Eric Pickles: To ask the Secretary of State for Communities and Local Government what consultancy firms her Department has commissioned work from in the last 12 months, and for what purpose.

Parmjit Dhanda: A list of contracts awarded for consultancy during the last 12 months, which includes a brief description of the purpose, has been deposited in the Library of the House.
	Contracts for under 20,000 are not recorded centrally and details could be supplied only at disproportionate cost.

Departmental Equality

Theresa May: To ask the Secretary of State for Communities and Local Government whether her Department met the Civil Service diversity targets set out on page 51 of Cabinet Office Annual Report 2007 by April 2008.

Hazel Blears: The final measurement against the targets will be collated and officially published by Cabinet Office in autumn 2008.
	The Department for Communities and Local Government intends to report that it exceeded all the cross-Government targets set by the 10 Point Diversity Plan. The following table shows our recorded data for the senior civil service as at 31 March 2008.
	
		
			  Percentage 
			  SCS Group  Cross- Government targets  Result at 31 March 2008 
			 Women in SCS 37 41.3 
			 Women in top management posts 30 33.3 
			 BME staff(1) 4 4.8 
			 Staff with Disabilities(1) 3.2 4.7 
			 (1) These results are not based on all SCS staff, but on the 77 per cent. of SCS staff who have provided information to personnel information management system (PIMS), which can be updated by staff at any time.

Departmental Film

Eric Pickles: To ask the Secretary of State for Communities and Local Government pursuant to the answer of 21 April 2008,  Official Report, column 1392W, on departmental film, what the  (a) title and  (b) purpose was of each film produced by the Communications Directorate.

Parmjit Dhanda: The eight films produced are as follows:
	 1. Mental health and social exclusion
	Length: 12 minutes
	Summary: Case studies about people with mental health problems who feel excluded from society. The film's purpose is to enable people who feel excluded from society to successfully enter employment, by changing perceptions of people with mental health problems. The film was produced in consultation with the social exclusion unit.
	Date: 2006
	 2. A film about the work of the Department
	Length: 4 minutes
	Summary: A montage of previous departmental videos.
	Date: 2006
	 3. Strong and prosperous communities: A bigger voice
	Length: 14 minutes 48 seconds
	Summary: Examines how to create stronger relationships between service providers and residents. Research suggests that involving communities increases public trust, confidence in local democracy and improved services.
	Date: 2006
	 4. What is community empowerment?
	Length: 9 minutes 30 seconds
	Summary: Focuses on the importance of engaging local people in shaping their communities for the better, based on examples from around the country. Produced with the Improvement and Development Agency.
	Date: 2007
	 5. One year on (Celebrating success and looking to the future)
	Summary: A PowerPoint presentation for departmental staff talking about improvements to working practices.
	Date: 2007
	 6. Preventing extremism, strengthening communities
	Length: 14 minutes 29 seconds
	Summary: A film about local projects engaging communities and preventing extremism. It was used at the Building Stronger Communities Conference in 2007 and distributed to attendees to help spread best practice. It includes case studies and examples including faith leaders and young people.
	Date: 2007
	 7. The Code for Sustainable Homes
	Length: 5 minutes
	Summary: For use with construction industry and local government on improving the construction and environmental friendliness of homes in the context of the new Code for Sustainable Homes.
	Date: 2008
	 8. Improving the energy efficiency of our homes and buildings
	Length: 11 minutes
	Summary: A film for building owners, explaining how energy efficiencies can be made in buildings in order to tackle climate change. It also explores how energy performance certificates work and how they can benefit building owners.
	Date: 2008

Departmental Internet

Stephen O'Brien: To ask the Secretary of State for Communities and Local Government how much was spent on the most recent redesign and implementation of her Departmental website.

Parmjit Dhanda: The Government have embarked on a major exercise to review, rationalise and converge their websites. In this context, the new departmental website was launched in August 2007. Costs of 1,199,209 were incurred for research into the needs of website users, set up and site development, design, information architecture and data migration, editorial work and training.
	The website is supported by the Department's enterprise software licence and was implemented as part of the Department's wider web rationalisation project.

Departmental Translation Services

Sandra Gidley: To ask the Secretary of State for Communities and Local Government how much was spent by her Department on translation and interpretation services in 2007-08, broken down by language.

Parmjit Dhanda: I refer the hon. Member to the answer given to the hon. Member for Wycombe (Mr. Goodman) on 19 May 2008,  Official Report, column 36W.
	The Department spent 8,681 on interpretation services in 2007-08. Details of interpretation services are not held centrally and could be obtained only at disproportionate cost.

Digital Switchover Help Scheme

Don Foster: To ask the Secretary of State for Communities and Local Government when her Department began the research into return path usage among the elderly referred to in the minutes of the Emerging Technologies Group meeting on 27 February in relation to the digital switchover assistance scheme.

Iain Wright: Together with the Department for Culture, Media and Sport, the Department has been exploring the opportunities around providing return path functionality for recipients of the digital switchover 'Help Scheme', and the meeting of the Emerging Technologies Group formed part of the discussions on this issue. The Department has not commissioned specific research on the usage of services by the elderly that are provided through a set-top box with a return path; the minutes refer to emerging data on the take-up of services specifically targeted at this group through the interactive 'DigiTV' platform, which is provided by Kirklees council.

Fire Services

John McDonnell: To ask the Secretary of State for Communities and Local Government how many times fire and rescue services evacuated residents from their homes in each of the last five years.

Parmjit Dhanda: The information requested is not held centrally.

Fire Services: Inspections

John McDonnell: To ask the Secretary of State for Communities and Local Government how many inspection visits to each type of premises were made by each fire authority under the provisions of the Regulatory Reform (Fire Safety) Order 2005 in each month since the Order came into force.

Parmjit Dhanda: Information on the number of audits is submitted to the department via annual returns from each fire and rescue authority, the most recent information available is for 2006-07. As the Order came into effect on 1 October 2006, Fire and Rescue Services were not required to provide these data for 2006-07. However 16 authorities provided these figures for the period 1 October 2006 to 31 March 2007. These figures have been deposited in the Library of the House.
	A complete set of figures will be available from 2007-08 onwards.

Fire Services: Manpower

John McDonnell: To ask the Secretary of State for Communities and Local Government how many emergency fire control staff are employed in local fire control rooms in each  (a) fire authority and  (b) region; and what indicative numbers are used by her Department for planning purposes of control staff required for each regional control centre under steady state operating conditions.

Parmjit Dhanda: I refer my hon. Friend to the answer given on 9 October 2007,  Official Report, column 561-62W to the hon. Member for Beckenham (Mrs. Lait) which sets out the number of staff employed in each of the existing 46 control rooms. Staffing figures fluctuate for a number of reasons, including maternity cover, secondments etc.
	I also refer my hon. Friend to the answer given on 20 June 2007,  Official Report, column 1856-57W to my hon. Friend the Member for Stroud (Mr. Drew) which details the indicative staffing figures for each of the nine Regional Control Centres (RCC). The actual number of staff employed will be a matter for each RCC Local Authority Control Company (LACC) to decide.

Fires: Warehouses

Stewart Jackson: To ask the Secretary of State for Communities and Local Government when she expects to receive the inquiry report from the Health and Safety Executive and the Metropolitan Police into the fatal fire at the warehouse at Atherstone-on-Stour in Warwickshire on 2 November 2007; and if she will make a statement.

Parmjit Dhanda: holding answer 15 May 2008
	 The joint Police and Health and Safety Executive investigation is on-going and currently there is no date for its conclusion. The Chief Fire and Rescue Adviser is in close contact with the ongoing investigations and is keeping me informed. It would be inappropriate to comment further whilst the investigation is in progress.

Freedom of Religion: UN Agencies

Kelvin Hopkins: To ask the Secretary of State for Communities and Local Government what response she plans to make to the UN Special Rapporteur on Freedom of Religion or Belief's report on her mission to the UK.

Parmjit Dhanda: Communities and Local Government will not be responding directly to the UN Special Rapporteur's report on her mission to the UK. The report is currently with the Foreign and Commonwealth Office who are considering how to respond.

Housing

Claire Curtis-Thomas: To ask the Secretary of State for Communities and Local Government what plans she has to assist first-time buyers with house purchases in the next two years.

Caroline Flint: As set out in the Housing Green Paper, we aim to help 75,000 more householders on to the property ladder over the next three years. Building on the existing programme, the Prime Minister last week announced further help to enable more first time buyers get a foot on the housing ladder.

Housing: Regeneration

Stewart Jackson: To ask the Secretary of State for Communities and Local Government what steps she plans to take to review the implementation of the housing market renewal area partnership business plans agreed in 2007; and if she will make a statement.

Iain Wright: From the outset of the Housing Market Renewal programme, the Audit Commission has undertaken reviews of each of the nine original partnerships every year, and this work will continue in relation to the ongoing programme. The Commission will also begin to review the Tees Valley programme from 2008, in view of its increased funding. The Commission's reports are published on its website.

London Airports

Michael Penning: To ask the Secretary of State for Communities and Local Government how many times her Department hired VIP facilities at  (a) Heathrow,  (b) Gatwick,  (c) Luton and  (d) Stansted airports in each month since May 2006; and what the expenditure on VIP facilities at each was in each of those months.

Parmjit Dhanda: The breakdown of information in the format requested could be obtained only at disproportionate cost.
	All departmental expenditure is incurred in accordance with the principles set out in Managing Public Money and the Treasury handbook on Regularity and Propriety.

Michael Clark

John Spellar: To ask the Secretary of State for Communities and Local Government if she will hold discussions with Leeds City Council on the events leading up to its housing of convicted murderer Michael Clark.

Parmjit Dhanda: The West Yorkshire MAPPA Senior Management Board are holding a serious case review into the events surrounding Michael Clark's release. Learning points from that review will be shared with relevant agencies locally and nationally. The Secretary of State for Communities and Local Government will make a decision on meeting with Leeds city council after the review findings are published.

Regulatory Reform (Fire Safety) Order 2005

John McDonnell: To ask the Secretary of State for Communities and Local Government how many  (a) (i) enforcement and (ii) prohibition notices were issued and  (b) prosecutions were brought by fire authorities under the provisions of the Regulatory Reform (Fire Safety) Order 2005 in each month since it came into force.

Parmjit Dhanda: This information is submitted to the department via annual returns from each fire and rescue authority, and the most recent information available is for 2006-07. As the order came into effect on 1 October 2006, Fire and Rescue Services were not required to provide these data for 2006-07. However 18 authorities provided these figures for the period 1 October 2006 to 31 March 2007. These are set out as follows. A complete set of figures will be available from 2007-08 onwards.
	
		
			   Number 
			 Enforcement notices 721 
			 Prohibition notices 121 
			 Prosecutions 1

Sleeping Rough

Lembit �pik: To ask the Secretary of State for Communities and Local Government what her most recent estimate is of the number of rough sleepers.

Iain Wright: The 2007 national estimate of the number of rough sleepers in England showed 498 people sleeping rough on any single night, a 73 per cent. reduction on the 1998 baseline. The estimate is based on the results of local authority street counts in those areas where a known, or suspected, rough sleeping problem has been identified.

Smoking

Mark Hoban: To ask the Secretary of State for Communities and Local Government how many smoking shelters were built at each of her Department's London buildings in each of the last five years.

Parmjit Dhanda: The Department for Communities and Local Government's buildings are smokefree. The Department has not constructed any smoking shelters.

Temporary Accommodation

Lembit �pik: To ask the Secretary of State for Communities and Local Government how many people were living in hostels at the most recent date for which figures are available.

Iain Wright: The information requested is not held centrally.
	The Homeless UK project, run by the Resource Information Service, provides information on hostels and supported accommodation for homeless people in England. There are 1,204 accommodation projects with over 57,000 bedspaces. 246 are direct access hostels with 9,000 bedspaces. Direct access hostels are short-stay emergency services aimed at rough sleepers and those in need of immediate accommodation.
	Data on the number of households placed in temporary accommodation under the homelessness legislation are available in our quarterly statistical release, which provides a breakdown by type of temporary accommodation, including hostels; at the end of December 2007, there were 6,620 households placed in hostels (including women's refuges).

JUSTICE

Chelmsford Prison: Drugs

Simon Burns: To ask the Secretary of State for Justice what percentage of  (a) remand and  (b) sentenced prisoners in HMP Chelmsford tested positive for illegal drugs in each of the last five years.

David Hanson: The percentage of positive random mandatory drug tests at Chelmsford prison in each of the last five financial years is detailed in the following table. The data recorded on mandatory drug testing at Chelmsford prison cannot be differentiated between remand and sentenced prisoners.
	
		
			  Random mandatory drug testing at Chelmsford prison 
			  Financial year  Positive rate (percentage) 
			 2003-04 25.7 
			 2004-05 10.8 
			 2005-06 8.0 
			 2006-07 4.7 
			 2007-08 6.9

Departmental Data Protection

James Brokenshire: To ask the Secretary of State for Justice whether any officials in  (a) his Department and  (b) its agencies were disciplined or dismissed for (i) breaches of data protection requirements and (ii) inappropriate use of personal or sensitive data in each of the last three years for which figures are available.

Michael Wills: According to centrally held records in the former DCA, members of staff have been disciplined and dismissed for inappropriate use of personal or sensitive data in the last three years.
	According to centrally held records in the public sector Prison Service, members of staff have been disciplined and dismissed for inappropriate use of personal or sensitive data in the last three years. In some of these cases, the inappropriate use of data is actually included as part of a wide range of charges against the members of staff.
	According to centrally held records in the former NOMS and OCJR there have been no recorded cases of discipline or dismissal for breaches of data protection and inappropriate use of personal or sensitive data.

Departmental Marketing

Andrew Rosindell: To ask the Secretary of State for Justice how much his Department plans to spend on public relations in 2008-09.

Maria Eagle: The Ministry of Justice plans the following public relations activity in 2008-09:
	 MoJ HQ
	160,000 in relation to community sentencing. This is provisional and subject to other planning in the course of 2008-09.
	 HMCS
	60,000 in relation to community engagement projects in Merseyside and Cheshire.
	 Office for Criminal Justice Reforma cross-departmental team which reports to Ministry of Justice, Home Office and the Attorney-General's Office.
	150,000 for a promotion of Inside Justice Week.
	100,000 for a Justice Awards event.
	The Office of the Public Guardian, Tribunals Service and Her Majesty's Prison Service have no agreed plans.

Departmental Public Participation

Stewart Hosie: To ask the Secretary of State for Justice how much his Department spent on  (a) written consultations,  (b) consultation roadshows and  (c) stakeholder focus groups in each of the last three years.

Bridget Prentice: As most of my Department's consultation exercises were covered by departmental costs as an integral part of the policy-making process, extracting the information requested would prove very difficult. However some consultations were funded by a different method and the costs of those can be found in the following table.
	
		
			   
			  Name of consultation  Cost of written consultation paper( 1)  Cost of consultation roadshows/stakeholder focus groups( 2) 
			  2006 consultations   
			 Openness in the Family CourtsConfidence and Confidentiality (2006) 20,000 8,000 
			 Legal Aid: a sustainable future (joint consultation with Legal Services Commission) (2006) 23,500 (matched by Legal Services Commission) Paid for by Legal Services Commission 
			
			  2007 consultations   
			 Openness in the Family Courtsa new approach (2007) 14,000  
			 Judicial Appointments: the Executive, Legislature and Judiciary (2007) 15,000  
			 War-making powers and international treaties (2007) 14,000  
			 NOMS Strategic Plan for Reducing Reoffending (2007)  75,000 
			 NOMS Believing we can (2007)  10,000 
			 NOMS Third Sector Strategy (2007)  20,000 
			   +18, 000 for joint consultation events for NOMS Believing We Can and NOMS Third Sector Strategy 
			 MoJ Third Sector Strategy (2007) 35,500  
			 OCJR Improving the criminal justice process for young witnesses (2007)  2,000 
			
			  2008 consultations   
			 Best Value in Probation NOMS (2008) 4,500 7,500 
			 (1) Where no costs specified, in-house facilities used. (2) Where no costs specified, in-house facilities used.  Note: Please note that all figures given are rounded to the nearest 1,000.

Domestic Violence: Victim Support Schemes

Henry Bellingham: To ask the Secretary of State for Justice 
	(1)  how much funding from receipts from the victims surcharge was awarded to charitable and voluntary groups who work with victims of domestic violence and domestic abuse in 2007-08;
	(2)  which charitable and voluntary groups that work with victims of domestic violence and domestic abuse received funding from the receipts from the victims surcharge in 2007-08; and how much each received.

Bridget Prentice: The following table shows the total amount and which groups, with individual amounts, received funding from the victims surcharge for work with victims of domestic violence and domestic abuse in 2007-8.
	The table gives details of the grants. In the main this is to Independent Domestic Violence Adviser Services which support the Specialist Domestic Violence Courts (SDVCs). Seed-funding grants are given to each group subject to confirmation of match funding locally. Continued funding is dependent upon satisfactory reports on performance.
	In a full year the surcharge will raise 16 million of new money. All this money is going directly towards better services for victims of crime and witnesses. These include 3 million for witness care units, 3 million for independent domestic violence advisers and 8 million for other support services for victims, the details of which will be announced shortly. 1,250,000 will be allocated to organisations helping victims of sexual violence, and another 750,000 will be allocated to organisations helping victims of other types of crime.
	
		
			  Independent Domestic Violence Adviser Services supporting specialist domestic violence courts (SDVCs) Seed-funding grants to each group subject to confirmation of match funding locally, 2007-08 
			  Government Office Region  () 
			  London Region  
			 Advance (Hammersmith and Fulham); 20,000 
			 Women's Trust IDVA Service (Kensington and Chelsea) 20,000 
			 Croydon Women's Aid - Croydon SDVC 20,000 
			 London Domestic Violence Co-Ordinating Group (for division) 120,000 
			 Victim Support - Brent SDVC 20,000 
			   
			  Eastern Region:  
			 Bedfordshire IDA Advisors 20,000 
			 Cambridgeshire IDV Advocacy Service - Huntingdon 20,000 
			 Essex Probation Service - Essex SDVC 40,000 
			 Leeway Women's Aid - Norwich SDVC 20,000 
			 Luton Independent IDA Advisors 20,000 
			 Peterborough City Council - Peterborough SDVC 20,000 
			 Suffolk County Council - Ipswich SDVC 20,000 
			 Sunflower Centre - Watford 20,000 
			 East Midlands Region:  
			 Derby CSP - Derby SDVC 20,000 
			 Leicester DVIRP - Loughborough 20,000 
			 Lincoln Women's Aid - West Lines, Lincoln and Grantham 20,000 
			 Mansfield and Ashfield Women's Aid - Mansfield 20,000 
			 Multi agency IDVA service - Chesterfield 20,000 
			 Northampton and Northern Sunflower Centres - Northants 30,000 
			 Women's Aid Advice Centre - Nottingham SDVC 20,000 
			 West Midlands Region:  
			 Arch N Staffs - N Staffs SDVC 20,000 
			 Birmingham and Solihull Women's Aid - Birmingham and Solihull SDVCs 60,000 
			 Coventry Haven - Coventry SDVC 20,000 
			 Shropshire IDVA Service - Shrewsbury, N Shrops, Oswestry 20,000 
			 SOADA - Sandwell SDVC 20,000 
			 Stafford Women's Aid - Cannock Stafford SDVCs 20,000 
			 Stonham - Bromsgrove and Redditch, S Worcs, Kidderminster SDVC 40,000 
			 Stonham -SE Staffs (Burton) SDVC 20,000 
			 Telford IDVA - Telford 20,000 
			 Victim Support - Dudley SDVC 20,000 
			 Walsall DV Forum - Walsall SDVC 30,000 
			 Wolverhampton DV Forum - Wolverhampton SDVC 20,000 
			   
			  Yorkshire and Humberside Region:  
			 Calderdale DV Forum - Calderdale 20,000 
			 DV Services Keighley - Bingley/Bradford 20,000 
			 ER Yorks Council/DVAP - East Riding SDVC 20,000 
			 HALT - Leeds SDVC 40,000 
			 Hull City Council/DA Partnership - Hull SDVC 20,000 
			 Its My Right and Scunthorpe Rape Crisis - Scunthorpe, Grimsby (and Cleethorpes) 40,000 
			 N Yorks Victim Support - Scarborough and Ryedale SDVC 20,000 
			 Rotherham Women's Aid - Rotherham 20,000 
			 Safer Doncaster Partnership - Doncaster SDVC 20,000 
			 Safe@Home - Wakefield 20,000 
			 Service TBC - York and Selby 20,000 
			 Sheffield DA Forum - Sheffield SDVC 20,000 
			 Victim Support - Barnsley 20,000 
			 South East Region: 20,000 
			 Berkshire Women's Aid (Reading, Newbury, Maidenhead) 40,000 
			 Brighton and Hove IDVA Service 20,000 
			 County Council Community Safety DV Team (West Sussex: Worthing, Crawley) 30,000 
			 CRI Domestic Abuse Service (East Sussex: Hastings, Eastbourne, Lewes and Crowborough) 30,000 
			 Early Intervention Project - Portsmouth SDVC 20,000 
			 East Berkshire Women's Aid (High Wycombe, Maidenhead) 40,000 
			 Island Women's Refuge (Isle of Wight) 20,000 
			 Milton Keynes Women's Aid 20,000 
			 Reducing the Risk of Domestic Abuse (N Oxford - Banbury, Oxford) 30,000 
			 Refuge Kent DV Advocacy Service (Kent: Canterbury, Shepway, Ashford, Dover, Thanet) 80,000 
			 Southampton IDVA Service 35,000 
			 Victim Support Hampshire and Isle of Wight - NW Hants (Andover) SDVC 20,000 
			 Victim Support, NE Hants (Alton) SDVC 20,000 
			   
			  South West Region:  
			 Bristol DA IDVA Consortium - Bristol 20,000 
			 Exeter Women's Aid - Exeter SDVC 20,000 
			 Family Matters - E Dorset (Bournemouth and Poole) SDVC; W Dorset (Weymouth) SDVC 40,000 
			   
			 Gloucs DV Support and Advocacy Project - Cheltenham SDVC 20,000 
			 IDVA Service - E and mid-West Cornwall (Bodmin and Truro) 20,000 
			 N Devon Women's Aid - Barnstable 20,000 
			 Plymouth Women's Aid - Plymouth SDVC 20,000 
			 S Devon Women's Aid - Torbay 20,000 
			 Service TBC - North Somerset 20,000 
			 Somerset Change - Sedgemoor (Bridgewater) and S Somerset (Yeovil) SDVC 40,000 
			 Southside Family Project - Bath SW Region 20,000 
			 Survive - N Avon (Yate) SDVC 20,000 
			 Victim Support Wilts - Chippenham and Swindon 40,000 
			   
			  North East Region:  
			 County Durham and Darlington - Durham SDVC 20,000 
			 My Sisters Place - Teeside (Cleveland) SDVC 20,000 
			 North Tees Women's Aid (Stockton) 20,000 
			 Wearside Women in Need - Sunderland 20,000 
			   
			  North West Region:  
			 Blackburn and Darwen District Women's Aid - Blackburn with Darwen SDVC 20,000 
			 Blackpool and Fylde IDVA Service 20,000 
			 Blackpool Advocacy Service - Blackpool and Fylde 20,000 
			 Cheshire County Council - Chester SDVC 20,000 
			 Chorley and S Ribble Service 20,000 
			 Community Safety Team - Wirral SDVC 20,000 
			 DV Family Safety Unit, Crewe Eastern Cheshire 20,000 
			 IDV Advocacy Service - Manchester 20,000 
			 Impact Housing Association - Carlisle SDVC 20,000 
			 Knowsley DV Support Service - Knowsley SDVC 20,000 
			 Lancaster and District Women's Aid 20,000 
			 MAPS Team - Burnley (Burnley, Pendle and Rossendale) SDVC 20,000 
			 Preston Independent DA Service 20,000 
			 Salford Women's Aid - Salford SDVC 20,000 
			 Service TBC - Sefton SDVC 20,000 
			 Star Centre - Rossendale (Burnley, Pendle and Rossendale) SDVC 20,000 
			 The Relationship Centre - Halton SDVC 20,000 
			 Victim Support, West (Workington and Whitehaven) and South Cumbria, (Barrow and Kendal) 20,000 
			 Warrington DA Support Services 20,000 
			 WAVE - Wigan SDVC 20,000 
			 Worst Kept Secret - Liverpool SDVC 20,000 
			   
			  Wales Region:  
			 Bridgend Women's Aid - Bridgend SDVC 40,000 
			 Caerphilly CBC, Blaenau Gwent DA Service - Caerphilly SDVC 20,000 
			 Cardiff Women's Safety Unit - Cardiff SDVC 20,000 
			 Carmarthenshire IDAA Service - Llanelli 20,000 
			 DA Resource Team - Merthyr Tydfil 20,000 
			 Monmouthshire County Council - Gwent (Cwmbran) SDVC 20,000 
			 Neath Women's Aid - Neath Port Talbot SDVC 20,000 
			 Newport City Council - Gwent (Newport) SDVC 20,000 
			 Pontypridd Safety Unit - Rhondda Cynon Taff SDVC 20,000 
			 Service TBC - Barry, Vale of Glamorgan 20,000 
			 Swansea Women's Aid / BAWSO - Swansea SDVC 20,000 
			 Tai Hafan - Pembrokeshire - Haverford west SDVC 20,000 
			 Tai Hafan - Wrexham SDVC 20,000 
			 Torfaen County Borough Council - Gwent (Torfaen) SDVC 20,000 
			 Women's Aid and Cymdeithas Tai Hafan - Llandudno/Prestatyn 20,000 
			 Total: 2,955,138 
		
	
	
		
			  Victims Fund: Sexual violence and childhood sexual abuse( 1) 
			   
			 Women's Support Network 28,038 
			 Eva Women's Aid (Redcar and Cleveland Women's Aid) 41,724 
			 Womankind (Bristol Women's Therapy Centre) 41,202 
			 Grimsby and Scunthorpe Rape Crisis 49,146 
			 Sexual and Domestic Abuse and Rape Advice Centre (SARAC) 15,250 
			 Voice UK 28,000 
			 1 This funding was awarded for support services on sexual violence and childhood sexual abuse, however the organisations also support victims with multiple problems, e.g. domestic violence

Domestic Violence: Victim Support Schemes

Henry Bellingham: To ask the Secretary of State for Justice 
	(1)  by what means charitable and voluntary groups in the domestic violence and domestic abuse sector are able to apply for funding from the victims fund;
	(2)  what criteria charitable and voluntary groups in the domestic violence and domestic abuse sector are required to meet to be considered for funding from the victims fund.

Bridget Prentice: The Victims Fund focuses on specialist services for victims of sexual violence and childhood sexual abuse, hate crime and homicide. The grant awards for 2007-8 were allocated following separate open competition application and assessment processes, which were advertised on the Government Funding website.
	www.governmentfunding.org.uk.
	Organisations supporting victims of domestic violence would have been eligible to apply if the bid was for services that would benefit the advertised target client group.
	The grant awards for Third Sector organisations-supporting victims of sexual violence and childhood sexual abuse have been made for this financial year, by repeating the grants to last year's recipients. Therefore this part of the scheme is not open for new applications for this year. Decisions on the allocation of grants for hate crime and homicide schemes are still pending.

Infant Life (Preservation) Act 1929: Prosecutions

David Amess: To ask the Secretary of State for Justice how many  (a) males and  (b) females were (i) prosecuted and (ii) convicted of an offence under the Infant Life (Preservation) Act 1929, broken down by age group, in each of the last 10 years for which figures are available; and if he will make a statement.

Maria Eagle: The requested data relating to offences under the Infant Life (Preservation) Act 1929 are in the following table.
	The statistics relate to persons for whom these offences were the principal offences for which they were dealt with. When a defendant has been found guilty of two or more offences the principal offence is the offence for which the heaviest penalty is imposed. Where the same disposal is imposed for two or more offences, the offence selected is the offence for which the statutory maximum penalty is the most severe.
	
		
			  Number of males and females, broken down by age group, proceeded against at magistrates' courts and found guilty at all courts, for the offence of 'Child Destruction' under the Infant Life (Preservation) Act 1929, England and Wales, 1997 to 2006( 1,2) 
			1997  1998  1999  2000 
			  Sex  Age  Proceeded against  Found guilty  Proceeded against  Found guilty  Proceeded against  Found guilty  Proceeded against  Found guilty 
			 Male 10-17 
			 Male 18-20 
			 Male 21 and over  1   
			 Male Total  1   
			   
			 Female 10-17 
			 Female 18-20 
			 Female 21 and over 
			 Female Total 
		
	
	
		
			2001  2002  2003  2004 
			  Sex  Age  Proceeded against  Found guilty  Proceeded against  Found guilty  Proceeded against  Found guilty  Proceeded against  Found guilty 
			 Male 10-17 
			 Male 18-20   1  
			 Male 21 and over 1
			 Male Total 1  1  
			   
			 Female 10-17 
			 Female 18-20 
			 Female 21 and over 
			 Female Total 
		
	
	
		
			2005  2006 
			  Sex  Age  Proceeded against  Found guilty  Proceeded against  Found guilty 
			 Male 10-17 
			 Male 18-20 
			 Male 21 and over  1   
			 Male Total  1   
			   
			 Female 10-17 
			 Female 18-20 1
			 Female 21 and over 1  1  
			 Female Total 2  1  
			 (1) These data are on the principal offence basis. (2) Every effort is made to ensure that the figures presented are accurate and complete. However, it is important to note that these data have been extracted from large administrative data systems generated by the courts and police forces. As a consequence, care should be taken to ensure data collection processes and their inevitable limitations are taken into account when those data are used.  Note: The number of people found guilty may exceed those proceeded against in a. particular year, as it may be the case that the proceedings in the magistrates court took place in the preceding year and they were found guilty at the Crown court in the following year, or the defendant was found guilty for a different offence to the original offence proceeded against.

Infant Life (Preservation) Act 1929: Sentencing

David Amess: To ask the Secretary of State for Justice what the average sentence was for a person convicted of an offence under the Infant Life (Preservation) Act 1929 in each of the last 10 years; and if he will make a statement.

David Hanson: According to data recorded for this offence in the courts proceedings database there have been two convictions over the period 1997 to 2006.
	One was in 1999, which resulted in a custodial sentence of 72 months, one was in 2005, which resulted in a life sentence.
	These figures have been taken from administrative IT systems, which, as with any large scale recording system, are subject to possible errors with data entry and processing.
	Statistics for 2007 will be published in the autumn.

Legal Profession: Pay

Anthony Steen: To ask the Secretary of State for Justice what assessment he has made of trends in the levels of remuneration of counsel at the private Bar defending prosecutions brought by the Crown Prosecution Service; and what plans he has to set levels of remuneration for those prosecuting cases at the private Bar in line with remuneration paid to defence counsel.

Maria Eagle: The Government asked Lord Carter of Coles to lead an independent review of legal aid remuneration. He reported in July 2006 and the Government accepted his recommendation. Some fees to Counsel were reduced and others increased. The net effect was a 9 per cent. increase in fees paid for defence advocacy services. As a result, while prosecution and defence fees had previously been broadly aligned, there is now a disparity between prosecution and defence fees. Prosecution fees are higher than defence fees in the longer, more complex cases, while defence fees are higher in the higher volume of shorter cases in the Crown court.
	The appropriate fees for counsel undertaking prosecution work is a matter for the Attorney-General and the Crown Prosecution Service. However, I am aware that discussions are proceeding between the CPS and the Bar Council about possible ways of redistributing current expenditure on prosecution fees to reduce the disparity.
	I do not believe that absolute parity between legal aid and prosecution rates is essential for several reasons as the CPS is not purchasing the same services from the self employed Bar as the Legal Service's Commission purchases through legal aid. The CPS as litigators have much greater control over the work undertaken by self employed barristers. Much of the CPS ancillary work and preparatory work more generally, can be undertaken by in house litigators and by Higher Court Advocates.

National Identity

Nick Herbert: To ask the Secretary of State for Justice 
	(1)  what events are scheduled as part of the Government's consultation on a British Statement of Values;
	(2)  what steps he is taking to formulate a British Statement of Values.

Jack Straw: We are currently finalising a process to inform the debate on the Statement of Values. This will include a series of events around the country. We expect to make an announcement about the way ahead before the summer recess.

National Identity: Consultants

Nick Herbert: To ask the Secretary of State for Justice what payments have been made to external organisations in respect of the development of a British Statement of Values since 3 July 2007.

Jack Straw: I refer the hon. Member to my answer of 10 March 2008,  Official Report, column 156W, and can confirm that a payment of 5,000 (plus VAT) was made to Promise to support the development of policy in relation to the Statement of Values.

Offenders: Deportation

John Spellar: To ask the Secretary of State for Justice pursuant to the Answer of 2 April 2008,  Official Report, column 1061W, on deportation: offenders, what further progress has been made on prisoner transfer agreements.

David Hanson: Since responding to the question on 2 April 2008,  Official Report, column 1061W, we have continued to look for opportunities to develop agreements with countries for the return of their nationals. I recently visited Nigeria as part of continuing negotiations on a bilateral agreement. The agreement with Pakistan was signed on 24 August 2007 and will enter into force immediately instruments of ratification have been exchanged. We expect that this agreement will come into force during the summer. Signature of the agreement with Vietnam is also expected shortly. Negotiations with Ghana continue.

Police Custody

Edward Garnier: To ask the Secretary of State for Justice pursuant to the answer of 6 May 2008,  Official Report, column 789W, on police custody, how many police forces were under agreement to participate in Operation Safeguard in each of the last 36 months.

Jack Straw: Operation Safeguard was activated in October 2006. The first table covers the period since then. In the period from October 2006 to August 2007 the figures given in the table represent the number of police forces in which Safeguard places were used at any point in the month.
	In the period September 2007 to May 2008 the figures in the second table represent the number of police forces in which cells were available for immediate use at any point during the month.
	
		
			  The number of police forces in which Safeguard places were used at any point in the month 
			  Month  Total number of forces 
			 October 2006 14 
			 November 2006 18 
			 December 2006 22 
			 January 2007 30 
			 February 2007 26 
			 March 2007 31 
			 April 2007 31 
			 May 2007 31 
			 June 2007 26 
			 July 2007 18 
			 August 2007 30 
		
	
	
		
			  The number of police forces in which cells were available for immediate use at any point during the month 
			  Month  Number 
			 September 2007 25 
			 October 2007 28 
			 November 2007 28 
			 December 2007 28 
			 January 2008 24 
			 February 2008 24 
			 March 2008 24 
			 April 2008 8 
			 May 2008 12

Prisoners

Edward Garnier: To ask the Secretary of State for Justice pursuant to the answer of 30 April 2008,  Official Report, column 521W, on young offender institutions, if he will publish the average number of hours of purposeful activity per day in  (a) prisons which predominantly hold (i) adult male prisoners and (ii) adult female prisoners,  (b) young offender institutions for males and (c) juvenile institutions in each week in April 2008 as soon as that data becomes available.

Maria Eagle: The following table shows the provisional average number of hours of purposeful activity per day in prisons which predominantly hold (a) adult male prisoners, (b) adult female prisoners and (c) male prisoners in young offender and (d) male prisoners in juvenile institutions, for each week in April 2008. No young offender or juvenile institutes are predominantly categorised as female. Therefore, the average number of hours for a female prisoner in a young offender or juvenile institution cannot be provided.
	
		
			  Average number of hours of purposeful activity per day 
			  Week commencing  Adult male prisons  Adult female prisons  Male young offenders institutions  Male juvenile institutions 
			 6 April 2008 3.6 3.9 3.7 4.2 
			 13 April 2008 3.5 4.1 3.7 4.3 
			 20 April 2008 3.6 4.1 3.8 4.3 
			 27 April 2008 3.5 4.1 3.8 4.1

Prisons: Essex

John Baron: To ask the Secretary of State for Justice whether he is considering introducing a Titan prison  (a) in Basildon district and  (b) in south Essex; and when a decision will be taken.

David Hanson: No decisions on sites have been taken. The priority search areas for sites are London and the south-east, the north-west and the west midlands.

Sentencing

David Amess: To ask the Secretary of State for Justice 
	(1)  what training judges receive on consistency in sentencing; what steps he  (a) has taken and  (b) plans to take to encourage consistency in sentencing; and if he will make a statement;
	(2)  what recent guidelines his Department has issued to judges about consistency of sentencing; and if he will make a statement.

Maria Eagle: The responsibility for judicial training lies with the Lord Chief Justice as head of the judiciary and is exercised through the Judicial Studies Board (JSB), an independent body chaired by Lord Justice Maurice Kay.
	Sentencing is a judicial function and judges and magistrates are responsible for making decisions in individual cases, subject to the statutory framework laid down by Parliament. All those who pass sentence will also consider relevant case law, Court of Appeal decisions and sentencing guidelines. Because of the independent nature of sentencing, training for both judges and magistrates seeks to promote a consistent approach to decision making, and uses sentencing exercises to give judges the opportunity to discuss the issues involved.
	Responsibility for issuing sentencing guidelines rests with the Sentencing Guidelines Council, not the Government. The Council was set up under the provisions of the Criminal Justice Act 2003 and is an independent body chaired by the Lord Chief Justice. In framing or revising sentencing guidelines the Council must have regard to the need to promote consistency in sentencing. The guidelines are binding on all courtswho must give reasons if they depart from the guidelinesand enable them to approach the sentencing of offenders from a common starting point in all criminal cases.
	In response to Lord Carter's review of the use of custody, the Sentencing Commission Working Group was set up under the chairmanship of Lord Justice Gage to consider the advantages, disadvantages and feasibility of a structured sentencing framework and permanent Sentencing Commission. The working group will report to the Lord Chancellor and Lord Chief Justice in the summer.

Sentencing

David Amess: To ask the Secretary of State for Justice what  (a) recent representations he has received from and  (b) discussions he has had with the police on sentencing policy; and if he will make a statement.

David Hanson: My right hon. Friend the Secretary of State for Justice and Lord Chancellor (Mr. Straw) and departmental Ministers regularly meet with the police to discuss a wide range of criminal justice issues.
	Prior to introduction of the recent Criminal Justice and Immigration Bill, discussions at official level have been held with the president of ACPO, to provide an overview of the provisions. The Police Federation, together with the Lancashire and West Yorkshire forces, responded to the consultation Making Sentencing Clearer in late 2006.

Young Offenders: Drugs

David Burrowes: To ask the Secretary of State for Justice what percentage of  (a) male and  (b) female young offenders aged between 10 to 17 years entered custody with (i) a drug misuse problem, (ii) an alcohol misuse problem and (iii) another substance misuse problem in the latest period for which figures are available.

David Hanson: Current risk factors, including drug and alcohol misuse issues, are recorded on a live section of the Youth Justice Board's database under the heading substance misuse. This information is regularly amended and updated for use by the Youth Justice Board's placement team and, as a result, historical records are not available.
	The following table shows the number of young people aged between 10 and 17 year old entering custody on Friday 16 May 2008 and those with identified substance misuse issues.
	
		
			  Friday 16 May2008  Total number entering custody  Those with identified substance misuse issues  Percentage of young people with substance misuse issues 
			 Boys 81 24 30 
			 Girls 5 3 60

Young Offenders: Learning Disability

David Burrowes: To ask the Secretary of State for Justice how many  (a) male and  (b) female offenders aged 10 to 17 years have been assessed as having (i) dyslexia, (ii) dyspraxia, (iii) a speech and language disorder, (iv) autism and (v) any other learning disorder while in custody in each of the last five years.

Maria Eagle: Information about specific health problems or learning difficulties among young offenders is not routinely collected. However, the study 'Mental Health Needs and Effectiveness of Provision for Young Offenders in Custody and in the Community' (Professor Richard Harrington and Professor Sue Bailey, Youth Justice Board for England and Wales 2005), identified 23 per cent. of young offenders as having learning difficulties, that is having an IQ of 70 or less.
	The hon. Member for Buckingham (John Bercow) is currently leading an independent review of services for children and young people (including offenders) with speech, language and communications needs. This is an independent review supported by the Department for Children, Schools and Families and the Department of Health.

Young Offenders: North West

Helen Southworth: To ask the Secretary of State for Justice what provision has been commissioned by the Youth Justice Board for young offenders in the North West under the age of 18 considered suitable for an open young offenders institution place; and if he will make a statement.

David Hanson: The under-18 unit at Thorn Cross Young Offender Institution showed the possible benefits of open conditions for some young people, but also demonstrated that a single large unit is not viable. Nor is a single unit drawing young people from the whole of England and Wales consistent with the Youth Justice Board's general aim of placing young people as close as possible to their homes.
	The Youth Justice Board is developing a strategy for the provision, across the country, of open accommodation for young people in custody. It is likely that this will be linked to existing closed establishments.

Young Offenders: Prison Accommodation

David Burrowes: To ask the Secretary of State for Justice how many  (a) male and  (b) female young offenders aged 10 to 17 years old were held within an adult prison in the last 12 months.

David Hanson: Juvenile prisoners are usually held in designated juvenile units and prisons. In exceptional individual circumstances juveniles may be held separately within over-18 accommodation for a short period.
	Detailed information on whether any under 18s were being held in over-18s accommodation in each of the last 12 months could only be provided by manual checking of individual prisoner records at disproportionate cost.